It Started Out as a Feeling
by KJM723
Summary: Christina Montgomery was just your normal, everyday teen. She hated school, liked boys, hung out with friends. But what happens when Chris stumbles into Narnia, meets a stunning soon-to-be king, befriends a mythical creature she thought only existed in fairy tales, and gets caught up in the middle of a war between two kinds? Set during Prince Caspian. MOVIEVERSE Caspian X/ OC
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Thank you all so much for checking out my story. Reviews are really appreciated, I'm kind of new at this. I don't own anything; i thought of Christina and Melanchates, but neither are specifically Trademark-able characters. All of Narnia belongs to C.S. Lewis. **

**Enjoy! **

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"Get up! You're going to be late!"

I snapped up and looked around. My mother stood next to my bed with her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face. She gestured toward the clock before exiting the room. The bright red numbers read 6:30. I had to leave in ten minutes.

I jumped out of my bed and ran to the bathroom across the hall. My sister was blow drying her hair.

"Someone got a late start this morning." She taunted.

"Shut up," I warned icily.

Smearing toothpaste on the bristles, I shoved my toothbrush into my mouth and began to scrub with one hand while I brushed my hair with the other. When that was finished I ran back to my room to get dressed. A pro about school uniforms: not worrying about picking out an outfit. I pulled on the blue and yellow plaid skirt, along with a white button up, and navy blue sweater vest.

Yes, I had to wear a sweater vest.

I quickly slipped on some yellow converse, not bothering to tie them as I did my makeup. Then, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and rushed out of my bedroom. Before I knew what was happening, I fell, face first, to the floor.

Cursing to myself, I sat up and tied the laces before standing up and bolting down the stairs.

The fall wind nipped at my face as I shoved my hands into my pockets, walking along the sidewalk. People surrounded me on every side, most of them on their way to work. I glanced at my phone as I walked. 6:40.

The subway left in five minutes, and school started in twenty minutes.

I quickened my pace and rounded the corner, trotting down the steps. The subway station was packed. Pulling my bag closer to me, I kept my eyes down and waited for the train. A high pitched squeal sounded from down the tunnel a little ways, the train was coming.

A guy in a brown coat, talking on his phone walked past me, his shoulder bumping into mine roughly. He didn't turn around, he didn't even acknowledge the fact that he had just ran into someone.

"Douche." I mumbled under my breath.

The train pulled up in front of me and the doors opened.

Once again, I felt someone brush right up against me. I noticed a woman in a navy blue suit taking a drink of Starbucks as she walked right past. What was wrong with people? Hands in fists and teeth clenched I took a step towards the train. Suddenly, a large black blur came barreling toward me. Of course, with my luck, I didn't notice it until I was on the ground.

"What is it? Push Christina day!" I exclaimed as I opened my eyes to yell at the man who knocked me over.

My breath flew out of my mouth.

I was in a forest. Everywhere I looked a towering tree stood. The ground was soft and covered with green plants. Green was all around, nothing but green. Looking up, I saw, through the parting in the trees' leaves, a cloudless blue sky and blinding rays of the golden sun.

I rubbed my eyes.

I must've hit my head so hard that I'm hallucinating. Yeah, that's it, this is a hallucination.

When I reopened my eyes everything was the same. I wasn't on the floor of the subway, my train wasn't sitting on the tracks in front of me, waiting to take me to school, and I definitely wasn't in New York.

A rustling noise met my ears. It was coming from my left. My heart rate sped up and my breathing became quick and shallow. It was a wild animal that was going to eat me. Cautiously, I sat up, searching the bushes surrounding me, trying to find the source of the noise.

I saw a patch of green about 2 yards away from me move.

My heart stopped.

Now I could hear feet. Little, animal feet, padding through the dirt, preparing to attack. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath, praying to God that it wouldn't notice me, or that it was something nice like a bunny or a squirrel.

It was getting closer. 3 feet…2 feet…1 foot.

For the second time within the past five minutes, I was pushed to the ground.

Fearing the worst, I slowly opened my eyes to see what animal was standing on my chest, evaluating what it would like to eat first. It had claws, I knew that, it's tiny little claws were digging into the skin of my stomach. But, the creature wasn't on all fours; I would've felt more claws. I only felt pressure in two places.

I opened my eyes, and, at first, I had the urge to laugh.

There, on my stomach, stood a small mouse.

A gold ring, which had a red feather sticking up on the top of it, was hooked around its left ear. A small, brown leather belt was buckled around its waist. It was also pointing what looked to be a tiny sword right at my face.

I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from giggling.

"Any last words, Telmarine?"

My heart stopped again.

Did a mouse just talk to me? Its lips moved and formed the exact same words that I heard. But that wasn't possible! It was a mouse! Mice can't talk. I must've hit my head really hard, to be imagining things like this.

"y-you're a…you're a mouse."

His tiny black eyes glared at me. A MOUSE JUST GLARED AT ME!

"You telmarines need imaginations."

I sat up, causing the mouse to fall off of my stomach and onto the ground next to me. I clutched my head, almost digging my nails into my skull, in an attempt to bring me back to the subway in New York. No such luck.

"I've got to be knocked out or something. This can't be happening! Animals don't talk."

I turned to the mouse and pointed, glaring, "You don't talk," I declared.

"The current events seem to contradict that," it countered. I sighed, putting my head back in my hands and bringing my knees to my chest. My body rocked back and forth slowly, like trying to rock an infant to sleep.

"I must be going crazy. This doesn't happen to sane people! They don't fall down in the subway then end up in…in-"

"Narnia," it interjected.

"Narnia!" I finished.

I paused for a minute, and processed what I had just said. Yes, I was definitely crazy. I was having a conversation with a mouse that had a sword in a fairy tale land named Narnia.

"What's Narnia?"

The mouse looked confused now. No, it didn't look confused because it's a mouse. And mice can't be confused. It stared at me for a moment before it audibly gasped and realization washed over its tiny little face.

"You're not from here," It was more of a statement than a question.

I shook my head.

"Where exactly did you come from?"

"New York."

It looked confused again. "You know? The big apple? New York City, New York? The U.S?" Then it nodded its head vigorously, as though I had been speaking in a foreign language and it just got a translator to tell it what I had said.

"You're from the same world as the kings and queens!"

I furrowed my brows at him. This mouse had to be the dumbest creature in the world if it didn't know what New York was. "How did you get here?" How did I get here? I was in the train station…fell over…Bam! Here I am.

"Well, I was on my way to school. And while I was waiting for the subway, people kept bumping into me, and this one guy actually ran straight into me and made me fall down. I had to have hit my head, because when I opened my eyes, here I was."

It nodded its head and stayed quiet for a second. Then it looked up, smiled, sheathed its mini sword, and stuck out a tiny pink paw. I stared at it, wondering what it was doing. "You're supposed to shake it. That's the custom when meeting new people in your world, correct?"

It wanted to shake hands with me? Yep, I'm crazy.

I gulped and nodded, slowly taking its paw in between my thumb, fore finger, and middle finger. I moved it up and down for only a second before yanking away. It grinned even more and did a deep, dramatic bow in front of me.

"I am Reepicheep."

A boy mouse? Figures.

He looked up at me expectantly…waiting for me to do something. What? "You're supposed to tell me your name." he whispered, like giving answers on a test. He wanted me to tell him, a talking mouse with a sword, my name?

"I-I'm C-C-Christina."

"Reepicheep? Reepicheep, where are you?"

I jumped, and then shrank back at the loud, masculine voice calling the mouse's name. Reepicheep didn't seem to mind, in fact, he almost seemed giddy.

"Over here, Glenstorm. And I've found something you may want to see."

Oh God, more talking animals. "No, reepicheep, I don't want to meet other mice. I just want to get back to New York." I hissed as I heard bushes rustling again. "Fine, you don't have to meet any mice." He agreed. But the rustling continued, getting closer every second. Then a tall, olive toned man came into view about twenty yards away.

I gasped as he walked closer.

That was no man.

He had golden yellow eyes and a serious face. His hair was dark, thick dreadlocks that fell to his waist. At his waist, the skin stopped, and dark brown hair began. And that hair kept going, covering the entire bottom of the half man/half horse. A centaur.

Behind him were other centaurs. All different sizes and colors.

There were also two large wooden wagons which were filled with medieval looking weapons.

"She hails from the same world as the kings and queens of old," Reepicheep stated.

He glanced down at me with curiosity for only a second before looking to the mouse. "Then bring her. I am sure his majesty would wish to see her," his voice was very deep, and even and regal.

Then, before I could say anything else, he was leading the other centaurs and the wagons away. My mind was whirling. Exactly how hard did I hit my head? There is no such thing as Centaurs! They're made up for fantasy stories. But there they were, in the flesh, talking to me…or at me technically.

"Come," Reepicheep said, pulling at my skirt.

I really did not want to go with the centaurs. They all looked at me as if I were an alien. But the big, leader centaur, Glenstorm, was already out of sight in the trees, and the rest were fading quickly.

Reepicheep pulled at my skirt again then scampered through the bushes to catch up to the group.

My heart began to beat faster and faster. What else was in this forest? I didn't want to be here alone, waiting for an animal that actually _will_ eat me. Cursing at myself and Reepicheep, I stood up shakily, brushed dirt off my skirt, and ran through the underbrush to catch up with the line of Centaurs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Sadly, i still do not own Narnia or anything in it. That honor belongs to C.S. Lewis. Please read and review, i'd love to hear your thoughts! **

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I walked at the very back of the group, keeping my eyes down, and my mouth shut tight. I was too afraid to look up. Where is it that we were going? Why did they have wagons full of weapons?

"Hello."

I jumped, then looked up to see a small (compared to the others) centaur woman.

She had long brown hair that reached well past her shoulders and soft brown eyes. She wore what looked to be a leather tank top that showed most of her mid section, which I noticed enviously, was very slim. Her horse half was a cream color.

"You seemed lonely," she stated.

I tried to smile at her, but it came out as more of a grimace. She nodded with a sympathetic look in her eyes as we walked in silence for a few more seconds. Quietly, she dug around in her bag, looking for something, before smiling and looking at me once again.

"Here." In her outstretched hand was an orange.

"You seemed hungry as well," she added, smiling.

I couldn't help but smile at her as I took it from her, my hand shaking. "Thank you," I whispered. My stomach gurgled hungrily, but I still shoved the orange in the pocket of my hoodie. There was no way I could eat right now, not in front of these...animals? people? _Things_?

"My name is Melanchaetes," the woman centaur spoke again.

She was reaching her hand out toward me, smiling as she watched what I would do. It seemed that I was just as strange to her as she and her friends were to me. But she seemed to be more accepting of it, watching me interestedly, instead of cautiously.

"C-Christina." I shook her hand, producing, what I hoped, looked more like a smile.

We continued walking, but she began to talk to me. I told her what happened and how I got here. I also told her how I was from the twenty-first century. She was intrigued at this. So I explained New York, and Time Square, and Cars, and fast food places, and movies.

I had never talked to anyone this long in my entire life. When I had finally finished explaining everything to her, and she had no more questions, I was out of breath. Her face glowed with satisfaction as we walked for a minute or two in silence.

Then, since I told her all about my world, she told me about hers. She pointed out the other creatures that I didn't know. Like Fauns, half goat half man, minotaurs, big scary ape looking things with horns. I made a mental note to myself to keep away from them.

She also said that all the animals here talked. Or, they used to.

"So why do you guys have wagons full of weapons?"

She then began to explain the kings and queens of old. How they had been from Earth and how they had gotten here. Then she told me about the white witch, and the prophecy about the 4 children. She explained how Aslan had died on the stone table, then came back to life and killed the witch.

She also told me about a Telmarine Prince who's uncle had been after his throne, but she didn't elaborate on what she meant by that. She said the prince ran into the forest and blew the Queen's magic horn, supposedly summoning the kings and queens of old.

"Wow," I breathed, trying to soak it all in.

Melanchaetes looked like she was going to say something else, but was interrupted.

A loud yell pierced the air, followed by the sounds of metal hitting metal. Glenstorm motioned for all of us to get down and stay hidden. There was more metal clashing, including grunting which sounded like two men, and then a loud high pitched voice scream "No! Stop!"

I lifted my head up, and about fifty feet away, I saw a young girl, who looked about 13, in a red dress.

The poor girl looked terrified. Glenstorm stepped forward. Everyone else, including Melanchaetes and I, stood up and moved forward to get a better view of what was going on. Slowly and cautiously, I walked forward until I was close enough to see what was happening.

There were two men.

One was dressed in tan pants, tucked into boots, a long sleeve blue shirt, and a brown tunic pulled over the blue shirt. A belt was around his waist, but there was no sword there. Sandy blonde hair was on his head and fell in his eyes. This boy also held a large rock.

The other wore brown pants, also tucked into boots, a white shirt, and what appeared to be metal armor over that. He was tan and had brown hair that almost reached his shoulders. In his hand, he held a sword.

My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes stayed glued to this stranger.

He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my entire life.

I forced myself to look away as the blonde one spoke. "Prince Caspian?" The beautiful one gulped and nodded slightly. "Yes, and who are you?" His voice had a strange accent. Everyone around here, except me, had a British accent, but his sounded like a mixture between a British and a Mediterranean accent.

_Is he the prince Melanchaetes talked about_?

Before the blonde boy had the chance to answer that question, three more people ran up onto the hill and joined the girl in the red dress. One, a girl wearing a long purple dress, yelled "Peter!"

The other two standing there were both men. Well, of the male gender.

One, who looked to be taller than me, was about 15. He wore a blue tunic looking thing and brown pants, which he tucked into boots. There was a belt around his waist, and dangling off of it was a sword.

Then there was what appeared to be a midget, or a dwarf.

He was wearing the same type of medieval clothing that the other boy was wearing, but he carried a bow and arrow instead of a sword. The girl in the purple dress also had a bow and arrow. The girl in the red dress had what looked to be a dagger.

The prince looked down at the sword in his hand and looked back up with a furrowed brow.

"High King Peter?"

King? He couldn't be a king! He couldn't be older than I was! The "king" nodded his head. "I believe you called," he growled at the prince. He sounded really angry about something. What? I had no idea, nor would I.

"Well, uh, yes…but, I thought you'd be older."

The king looked at him, his face remaining calm, but his eyes were angry and exasperated, like he had already been told this a thousand times in the past hour. "Well, if you'd like, we can come back in a few years." His voice was even, but there was an angry and sarcastic tone hiding underneath it.

"No!" Prince Caspian said just a bit too quickly.

Everyone in the small clearing seemed to notice the desperation behind that quick reply. Even the king did, since he turned around and looked at the prince expectantly. "No, that's alright. You're just," he paused and let a rueful smile turn up the corners of his lips.

"You're not exactly what I expected."

He turned to look at the small group gathered on the hill to his left. He scanned his eyes over every person standing there. I saw him look over the girl in the purple dress, move on, then do a double take. He stared at her, slightly awed.

I rolled my eyes.

"Neither are you."

This was the first time the younger boy had spoken. He was standing on the hill, next to the young girl, eyeing a Minotaur that stood across the clearing from him, about fifteen feet away from me. I couldn't help but grin. Perhaps he was making the same mental note to avoid them as I had.

Probably not, but maybe.

"A common enemy unites even the oldest of foes," I heard someone tell him.

I glanced in the direction of the sound and saw a badger standing there, looking at the boy. It was very hard for me to keep my jaw from dropping. Even if I had heard it from a centaur that had lived here for her entire life, I still wasn't used to the fact that animals could talk.

Nobody else seemed surprised by this, not even the five humans that stood in front of me.

A familiar flash of brown and red scampered forward, and I saw Reepicheep approach the king.

"We have anxiously awaited your return, my liege. Our hearts and swords are at your service." The small mouse bowed in front of the king. The little girl in the red dress leaned over to the girl in the purple dress and whispered "Oh my gosh, he is so cute."

"WHO SAID THAT?!"

Reepicheep pulled out his sword and looked around with an angry expression on his tiny mouse face. "Sorry," the girl replied quickly. I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to muffle the giggles that were escaping my lips.

Reepicheep stumbled as he saw who had actually said it.

"oh, uh…your majesty, with the greatest respect," he paused to bow deeply in front of her, "I do believe courageous, courteous, or chivalrous might more befit a knight of Narnia."

_Your majesty? So she's royal too? What is with all these teenagers being Kings and Queens and Princes and Princesses? How easy is it to be royal in Narnia? Is it just a free hand out or something? I wonder if she's a Queen or a Princess. _

"Well, at least one of you can handle a blade," King Peter said pointedly.

Reepicheep decided to ignore the obvious jab at the prince, and carry on the conversation. "yes, indeed. And I have recently put it to good use, securing weapons for your army, sire." The king looked quite pleased with the little mouse right now.

"Good, because we're going to need every sword we can get," this time, instead of just jabbing him with words, the King glared at the Prince, who still held the sword. Prince Caspian met his eyes and didn't look away or back down.

"Well then, you will probably be wanting yours back."

He handed King peter the sword, who slipped it back into his belt, rolled his eyes, then turned and walked away from him. The show was over…now what? I watched as all the Narnians were quick to jump into action.

All the humans, besides me, lead the group as we went back to walking.

"It's really them then." Melanchaetes gasped as conversations flared up everywhere.

"Who?" She looked down at me with a 'duh' look in her eyes as she said "the kings and queens of old. They've finally returned." Her eyes held a new glint of excitement in them and her smile was radiant. She thought her lost monarchs had come back to save her.

Maybe they had.

"You're kidding right? Those four teenagers are the great rulers who defeated the white witch's army?" I couldn't help but scoff at the thought. There was no possible way. "Yes!" she exclaimed.

"That's not possible; they couldn't have done it on their own!"

"Aslan was helping them!" she explained. The great lion Aslan. The one true ruler of Narnia for eternity. He helped them? That made more sense. "What're their names? I'm tired of referring to them as the purple dress girl, or blue shirt boy in my mind." I wondered.

"The small one, in red, she's Queen Lucy, the valiant. The girl in the purple dress is Queen Susan, the gentle. The brown haired boy, that's King Edmund, the just. And the Blonde one is High King Peter, the magnificent." She listed expertly.

"and the one that King Peter was fighting with is that the Prince Caspian guy you mentioned?"

She nodded her head and stopped walking. I looked to see what she was looking at. The entire procession had stopped walking. I was in the very back, but, from what I could see, we had come to the entrance of a very big field. And in the distance, at the far end of the field, I noticed what looked to be ancient ruins.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: I do not own Narnia! Read/Review let me know what you think! As of now the story is mainly prepositional, but it will pick up fairly soon, please stick with me! **

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Everyone was silent as we neared the pile of rocks. It was tall, about fifty feet high, and covered in moss, nothing that special. But there was something I didn't know. Everyone else around seemed to be very serious, or grave.

The walk across the field took roughly fifteen minutes.

The closer we got, the more I realized that this was the base of the Narnian army. You could, in fact, enter the ruins, and, from the small glimpses I got, there seemed to be tunnels branching off to other parts of the ruins.

When we reached the ruins, the procession once again stopped.

Two long lines of centaurs stood on either side of the entrance. As the kings and queens stepped up they all pulled out their swords and crossed them in the air. Caspian stopped and let the four siblings enter the ruins first.

Melanchaetes and I were the last ones to enter.

We walked through a short tunnel and then came to a great room, lit with torches, where even more Narnians were gathered, building weapons and doing other things in preparation for the battle that was soon to come.

I saw the four kings and queens, as well as the prince, walk down yet another tunnel.

No one else followed.

I stood awkwardly in the center of this big room while fauns, and centaurs, and dwarves, and Minotaurs hustled and bustled about. "Come, Christina, you may help with weapons transport," Melanchaetes suggested.

She led me to a group of two fauns, one centaur, and one dwarf.

No one spoke a word, they barely made eye contact, as they handed us a large pile of swords. I wrapped my arms tightly around the pile I was given, afraid to drop one. Then I followed Melanchaetes through a dark tunnel into another large cave.

In here, there were shelves and tables and baskets and trunks, all containing swords and axes and bows and arrows. Two Fauns were organizing a basket of arrows when we entered. They took the swords from us and we were shooed off to get more.

"Melanchaetes, I was wondering, we're friends…right?"

"Yes?" she seemed confused.

"Well, I was just wondering, if I could call you Mel. Because Melanchaetes is quite a mouthful."

She laughed warmly and nodded her head with a smile on her face. "I suppose that is acceptable. May I call you Chris?" A small smile formed on my lips as I nodded my head. We made several more trips to the weapons room, delivering all kinds of medieval weapons to the fauns who apparently worked only in there.

We were on our way back from the sixth trip when a dwarf told us that everyone was meeting in the stone table room.

"Stone table?" I asked as we walked through the same tunnel the Kings and Queens had a few hours ago. "Yes," Mel answered seriously. "Isn't that were Aslan died?" she nodded her head stiffly. "What is this place?" I questioned more to myself than to her.

"This is Alsan's Howe."

We entered a room that was illuminated by fire. At the very far end of the room there was a large carving of a mighty lion roaring. I assumed it was Aslan. There was also a huge slab of stone in the center of the room. But it was cracked in half.

Queen Lucy sat on top of the stone slab while King Edmund and Queen Susan sat on opposite sides of the room. King Peter and Prince Caspian were standing in front of the stone table, waiting for everyone's attention.

Mel and I slipped in quietly and made our way to a vacant corner of the room, on the right of where Queen Susan was sitting.

"It's only a matter of time. Miraz's men and war machines are on their way."

King Peter looked around the room, surveying everyone and allowing his words to sink in. When his eyes reached me he paused and he furrowed his eyebrows for a minute. I could only meet his eyes for a second before blushing and looking down.

I guess he was used to being one of the only humans in Narnia.

And, compared to what other people were wearing, I was seriously out of place.

He turned away and I sighed in relief. Being stared at by a king is more nerve racking then you would think. "That means those same men aren't protecting his castle," he continued, still surveying the room.

"What do you propose we do, you're majesty?" Reepicheep inquired.

"We need to get ready for-"

"We need to start planning for-"

Both Prince Caspian and King Peter had tried to speak at the same time. They cut off in the middle of their sentences and looked at one another. After a few moments the prince nodded his head at the king, allowing him to speak.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us," King Peter announced.

"But that's crazy. No one has ever taken that castle," the Prince argued.

"There's always a first time."

The dwarf that had arrived in the clearing with the Kings and queens earlier that day seemed to agree with the king." We'd have the element of surprise," he reasoned. "But we have the advantage here," the prince fired back.

The girl in the purple dress, Queen Susan, was quick to come to his defense.

"If we dig in we could probably hold them off indefinitely."

She looked at her older brother, the high king, with an almost pleading expression. When he looked at her he wasn't angry, he seemed irritated. Irritated that his sister would chose a stranger's side over his.

"I, for one, feel safer on the ground." I also recognized the badger from earlier today.

King Peter's patience was wearing out. He took back control of the gathering. "Look," he said to the prince, "I appreciate what you've done here; but this isn't a fortress. It's a tomb." The other king, who I hadn't heard speak except that one time this afternoon, spoke up.

"Yes, and if they're smart, the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out."

"We could collect nuts." I glanced over to see a small squirrel standing next to Reepicheep. I really needed to become accustomed to the idea that animals could, in fact, speak in this world. Something in the back of my mind told me that no matter how long I stayed here, talking animals would never cease to shock me.

"Yes! And throw them at the Telmarines…Shut up!"

I bit down on my lip so hard that I drew blood to keep from laughing. Reepicheep looked at the squirrel for only a second before turning back to the humans. "I think you know where I stand, sire."

King Peter nodded, and then turned to look at Glenstorm.

"If I get your troops in could you handle the guards?"

Everyone in the room held their breath as Glenstorm thought. I, personally, didn't know which side to chose. A castle would be much more difficult to infiltrate, but, as King Edmund had said, if we stay here we risk the chance of being blocked in by the Telmarines.

"Or die trying, my liege."

"That's what I'm worried about."

All eyes turned to the young girl, Queen Lucy, perched on top of the giant stone slab. I had forgotten she was even there. And, judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, they did too.

"Sorry?" Peter wondered.

"You're all acting like there's only two options: dying here, or dying there."

I had to give it to the girl, she certainly was deep. Then again, what other plans did we have? We had nowhere else to go. If we leave here we have an even higher risk of getting killed off quickly. _What do you mean 'we'? You're getting out of here as soon as you can. _

I sighed, I had forgotten about that. I made a mental note to speak to Mel about how I could get back to New York after this meeting. My attention snapped back to the conversation before me as the High King spoke.

"I'm not sure you've really been listening, Lu."

"No, you're not listening! Or have you forgotten who really defeated the white witch, peter?"

He glowered at her. "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough."

And with that, he left the cave.

Slowly, everyone began to disperse. I looked at the young queen who sat, unmoving, on the stone table as the room began to empty. Before I knew it, only she and I remained in the cave, even Mel had left me.

"How do you do that?"

By the time I had realized that I had spoken out loud it was too late. Queen Lucy looked up at me, slightly surprised. "Do what?" _Yes, Christina, do what?_ "Believe in him so faithfully." My eyes darted to the carving of the majestic lion.

"He's the one that brought me to Narnia the first time. If it weren't for him, I don't think Narnia would even exist anymore."

I nodded.

"I'm Lucy, Lucy Pevensie."

For a moment, I had forgotten that she was a queen. Where were my manners? I curtsied, looking down at the floor. "I know, your majesty." I didn't dare look back up until she told me to, I had already incorrectly addressed her once.

"Please, just Lucy." She held out a small, gentle hand.

I took it and shook it, forcing a smile.

"Christina Montgomery."

"That's a strange accent you have," Lucy commented, smiling. I didn't know how to reply, I've never been told I had an accent before. "Where are you from?" "New York," I answered. "You mean the states?" she questioned. "Yeah, the United States."

"Christina, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what on earth are you wearing?"

I looked down to see my school uniform. My legs were covered in dirt from falling so much, and my skirt was wrinkled. My shirt was still untucked, and my vest had dirt on it as well. My converse were okay though, which was a good thing.

"My school uniform," I growled resentfully.

"Your school allows your skirts to be that short?"

When I looked at her, she seemed almost shocked. I looked back at my skirt and noticed it ended about an inch and a half above the knee. This was modest, compared to what some of the other girls at school wore.

"What are you, from the 70's? This is modest in New York."

"What do you mean the 70's?"

"I mean that you seem so surprised that skirts are shorter. If you can't handle the styles of 2010, you should go back to the 70's, where skirts were a LOT longer," I explained, confused.

"What do you mean 2010?"

I tried my best to conceal my surprise, but I'm pretty sure my eyes were bugged out of my head and my jaw was sitting on the floor. How can someone not even know what year it is? Unless they literally live under a rock.

"On Earth? The year is 2010."

This time she looked shocked. I waited as her face went from surprised, to confused, back to surprised, then almost sad. "B-but, that can't be. We only left yesterday," she whispered. _So now she doesn't know what year it is and she's mumbling nonsense, great!_

I instantly felt guilty for my sarcastic thought. This girl was obviously depressed about something, although it was unclear what, and all I was doing was sitting there and being rude. I felt the need to comfort her, to make up for my unspoken nastiness.

"I-it's alright…not everyone remembers what year it is." I didn't know how to console her.

"No! When we left earth it was 1941! It can't already be 2010, that's impossible," she cried.

I let her words sink in. Now there was nothing I could do, this poor little girl was completely insane! Or she hit her head on something and was now very, very delusional. Either one, I felt the need to go get her sister.

"Um, Lucy? Maybe we should get Queen Susan. She-" Lucy cut me off.

"Yes, of course!" She smiled, and the small tears I saw brimming in her eyes had vanished. "Susan would know what to do! She always knows what to do!" She stood up and reached her hand out to me. I was a little apprehensive, wondering if she had severe mood swings or multiple personality disorder.

When I took her hand she dragged me through the various caves, yelling "SUSAN!"

Eventually we found her, along with both the kings, discussing something quietly in the corner of the main cave near the front of the howe. "Susan!" lucy was out of breath, but still calling her sister and dragging me toward the group, who were now staring at us.

"Susan, this is Christina. Christina, this is Susan," Lucy introduced quickly.

"Your Majesty," I felt dumb, seeing as how I would never do something like this in New York, but I grabbed the corners of my skirt, lifted them up the tiniest bit, and curtsied, bowing my head in respect for the young monarch.

"Please, call me Susan. And if you don't mind me asking, what in Aslan's name are you wearing?"

A light blush covered my cheeks as I felt all four of them look at my school uniform, then back at me. "I already asked her that. That's why we came to you," Lucy told her. Susan nodded, understanding. "So you need a dress? You look about my size, I'm sure we can find something that will fit you."

I began to shake my head no, but Lucy spoke for me.

"Well, we'll need that, but I brought her to you because she claims that the year is…what is it again?"

She glanced at me, and my blush got darker as I felt the stares of both the kings burning into me. all of them were intrigued and waiting, listening closely, for an answer. I cleared my throat. "B-Back in New York i-it's um, the year is 2010."

"What?"

The high king was very surprised and confused. "That can't possibly be…" he trailed off, looking for words. "We only left yesterday…" the younger king couldn't find many words either. "When we left it was 1941…" All of us allowed the words to sink in. Yes, we were from the same world.

But they had left Earth to come to Narnia 69 years before I did.

After about five minutes of silence Lucy spoke. "If it really is 2010 on Earth, then that means…Mum, dad, every single person we knew is…de-" she couldn't say the word. I saw tears streak down her cheeks as the sentence hung in the air, sinking into everyone's bones.

An instant pang of guilt appeared, stronger than the last one, as I realized that Lucy was telling the truth. They were from the 40's. More guilt set in as I watched one lone tear slip down susan's cheek. The kings were both very grave and very serious, remaining strong for their sisters.

I turned my back as they hugged one another. This was their family's time to grieve, and I was intruding.

Suddenly a light bulb popped up in my head, along with blazing sirens and an insane idea that really made me question my sanity. I whirled around, a smile on my face, and looked at the Kings and Queens. They stared at me, depressed, and angry since I was smiling when they just found out that their parents were dead.

"Look, I have no idea how time works here, but maybe it is possible that we are just from two different times. Because from the stories I've heard, you ruled here for a long time, but when you went back to earth, you were the exact same age you were when you first came to Narnia."

_You're actually making sense. I'm proud of you._

_Shut up, brain._

"And, then you left for, like, 1300 years, right? How long was that in your world?"

"One year," King Edmund mumbled, still not seeing my point.

"So that's it! We both came to Narnia from different times, and when we go back, we'll be in the times we came from! And nothing will be different, because our worlds practically freeze when we come here. So it should just pick up where we left off!"

_Wow…good point._

They stared at me a second, awed that I, an outsider and a newbie to the land of Narnia, could come up with an explanation such as that.

Lucy smiled, not even bothering to wipe away her tears as she wrapped me in a tight hug.

"How did you figure something like that out?" She wondered as Susan also hugged me. I was a little stand offish, mostly because I didn't know any of these people, but I patted her back nonetheless and smiled at her.

"I honestly don't know," I laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: God, i wish i owned Edmund, or Caspian, or Peter, or anything really. But I don't. All of this fantastic world belongs to C.S. Lewis. I hope the story is starting to pick up now, Read/Review, feedback is greatly appreciated!**

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"Oh," Lucy giggled, "Christina, these are my brothers. King Edmund and King Peter."

"_High_ King Peter," he corrected with a smile.

I just now recalled that I hadn't technically been introduced to them yet. Again, I bowed and said "Your majesties." A dark blush had spread over my cheeks. I was normally an anti social book worm that kept to myself and my small group of friends. Meeting new people always made me nervous.

I was more nervous now than I ever was before. I mean, come on, I was meeting royalty.

My blush got darker as the High king said "Please stand up. You can call me Peter."

His smile was dazzling as I looked into his shining blue eyes. I couldn't help but smile back. "And you can call me Edmund." The younger boy said, flashing me a small smirk. He was definitely one of those people who didn't smile much.

I didn't feel bad. I was exactly the same way.

"Your Majesties," a strangely accented voice stated, slightly cold.

I looked up to see the gorgeous prince from earlier. His face was composed in a serious, business like face, and I could tell he didn't want us girls around. Lucy and Susan caught this too. "Come on, Christina, let's get you something to wear," Susan instructed, though her eyes never left the prince.

"Nice meeting you," I muttered to Peter and Edmund as I was being pulled away.

For the briefest second, the prince glanced at me and our eyes met. His eyes were large and round, and warm and deep. I just wanted to swim in them forever. My cheeks blazed and I looked down as Lucy and Susan rounded a corner and the prince disappeared.

"Susan, Lucy, you really don't have to get me a dress. I'm fine in my school clothes."

Before either of them had a chance to argue with me, I heard a familiar voice calling my name. Only a second later, Mel rounded the corner and flashed a bright smile at me. Then bowed to Lucy and Susan, "Your majesties," she greeted warmly.

After she straightened up she continued speaking.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I was hoping to speak with Christina for a moment."

Both of the queens looked reluctant, but said that I could go. I flashed them both a quick smile before hurrying off with Mel, trying not to look too eager. "Thanks Mel, you saved me from a dress back there," I gasped when we were a considerable distance away.

"That's precisely why I came to fetch you." She smirked mischievously and led me towards another end of the caves.

We finally reached a tiny little cave that had about five mats placed on the floor and a dressing screen on the far side of the room. I quirked an eyebrow at her, but she just smiled and pushed me behind the screen. Much to my horror, there was a beautiful, yet simple green dress waiting for me.

"Mel…" I trailed off.

"Do you like it? I made it myself." He voice was eager and proud.

My fingers traced over the intricate floral designs around the square neckline. "Melanchaetes, how did you find the time to do this?" I demanded. "It wasn't hard. We centaurs are quite skilled in many fields, sewing among them." Now her voice was smug.

I peeked out from behind the screen to look at her.

"I can't wear this…it's-" she interrupted me.

"I spent a good portion of my afternoon on the dress, and if you do not put it on this instant I will put it on for you. Don't make me do it, Christina, because I most certainly will." She was serious, but she grinned playfully and winked at me.

I heaved a frustrated sigh and went back behind the screen, peeling off my school clothes.

Unlacing the back of the dress was simple. Stepping into the dress and pulling it onto my shoulders, also simple. Relacing the back after I had it on? Not so easy. "Mel, can you help me tie this?"

I lifted my hair off my neck and stepped out, turning my back to her.

I felt her fingers brush against my skin a few times, and I couldn't help but jump. I wasn't very good at contact with others. When she finished I let my hair fall down over my back and shoulders, and attempted pulling the somewhat low neckline up, to cover myself up more.

Mel smacked my hand, "Don't you dare, you look great."

She grabbed my hand, the one she had just smacked, and pulled me to another side of the small cave. There, leaning against the wall, was a large, full length mirror. I gasped when I saw myself in the reflection. Hatred for dresses aside, Mel did a nice job, and I looked decent.

The bodice of the dress fit me perfectly, but didn't make it hard to breath. The skirt flowed out from the hips, keeping close to my legs but still allowing me the freedom to move easily. The sleeves stayed on my shoulders, and were somewhat fitted around the upper arm, and then loosened considerably at the elbow, allowing you to see the red fabric inside the dress.

"Mel…it's so…" I couldn't find words. It wasn't the most gorgeous dress in the world, but knowing that she had sewn it herself made it absolutely wonderful.

"You're welcome," she answered, smirking again.

_Now's your chance, ask her about going home. _

_But she just gave me a beautiful dress, asking her would make her feel like I don't want to be here._

_You __**don't**__ want to be here. Just ask._

_Fine!_

"Hey Mel, I have a question," I began slowly.

"Yes?"

I looked down at the floor, feeling guilty. "Say, theoretically of course, that I wanted to go home. How would I go about doing that?" I wondered quickly, not taking a breath. She didn't respond for a long time, and when I looked up, she was staring at me, her face looked hurt.

"You want to go home?"

"No, I like it here! A lot, but…" I searched for an excuse as to why I couldn't stay here.

"I-I uh, I'm going to be late for school!"

It was a stupid and lame idea, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Even though I knew that my world was basically frozen while I was here. She nodded, looking away. When she looked at me again, she looked almost sympathetic.

"Chris, I'm really sorry I have to tell you this, but you can't go home."

Confusion flooded through me as I raised both my eyebrows and looked at her. What did she mean I couldn't go home? "What?" I finally asked. She sighed, knowing she would have to explain it further if I were to understand.

"Every human that has showed up here, besides the Telmarines, has been brought here by Aslan. Yes, you too. He brought you here for a reason, and he will send you home when you have finished what you were brought here to do."

"What?"

I didn't know Aslan. He couldn't have brought me here. Why would he have brought me here anyways? There's nothing that I could possibly do.

"Even if it is true, which, no offense, I don't think it is, what was his reason for bringing me here? How am I supposed to find out what he wants me to do if I've never met him?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but before a word escaped her mouth someone called my name. I looked up to see Lucy walking into the room. Mel and I both bowed to her, which she instantly told us to stand up. Then she looked at my dress.

Mel saw her doing so and smiled proudly. "I made it for her myself," she announced.

"And Susan has some shoes that I'm sure you'd be more comfortable in!" She glanced warily at my converse. "Thanks Lucy, but I'm more comfortable in these," I tried to tell her. She didn't listen.

Instead, she just took my arm and pulled me through the caves. We came to a cave that was larger than the last one. It had two sleeping mats, a changing screen, and two trunks. Susan was digging through one of the trunks when we came in.

Lucy pushed me into a sitting position on one of the mats as she helped Susan look through the trunk.

Finally, they pulled out a dark brown pair of leather boots. I eyed them suspiciously as Lucy set them in front of me. "They're…nice," I mumbled, not wanting to take my converse off. Lucy sensed this and raised an eyebrow.

"Just put them on. I promise, you'll like them."

I sighed and did as she said, after all, she was a queen. The boots reached just below my knee. Although I hated to admit it, Lucy was right. They were more comfortable then my converse. And I did like them.

I smiled, thanking Susan and Lucy as I stood up, testing how the boots felt.

"Oh, guess what!" Lucy cried.

"What?"

"Tomorrow I'm going to teach you archery! And Edmund's agreed to teach you how to handle a sword!" she said this like a good thing. I didn't see it as a good thing. "That's really nice of you, Lucy. But I think I should focus on finding a way home," I replied.

Her smile didn't even falter.

"Oh, Aslan will send you home when he's ready. Until then, I'll teach you archery!"

"But what good is archery going to do me?"

I had her there. She remained quiet for a second, thinking about an answer for my question. I was about to smile and point out that I had a good point when Susan spoke up. "There is a fight with the Telmarines coming up soon. If the exhibition at Miraz's castle doesn't go well, they'll be coming here. And we'll need all the help we can get."

I glared at her. She had a very good point there.

"It's settled then! Be up at dawn tomorrow for your first lesson with Edmund!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: I do not own anything from Narnia. I realize the story seems to be moving quickly (at least through the events that unfold during the movie) however, i intend to have a lot more happen after the last few scenes of the movie, but most of these first chapters are going to have to do with very closely with the storyline portrayed by Disney. Enjoy! Read/review if you like it!**

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"Come on, now. Focus." Lucy commanded.

She and I stood in the woods near the howe, doing target practice. For the past three days Lucy and Mel had been attempting to teach me archery and Edmund tried to teach me sword fighting while Peter and Prince Caspian (I still didn't know him on a first name basis) prepared to invade Miraz's castle.

I knocked the arrow back in the bow and took a deep breath, honing in on the target a hundred feet away. How I stood any chance of landing a shot near it, I had no idea, but still, there I was. Attempting what I knew was the impossible.

Releasing my breath, I let go.

A sharp pain appeared in my arm as the string snapped my skin yet again.

Ignoring the pain for a second, I watched my arrow soar for a pathetic ten feet before burying itself in the earth. "Damn it!" I yelled, throwing the bow to the ground angrily. I glanced at my arm and noticed that it was now bleeding.

I cringed and looked away quickly.

"You okay?" Lucy asked. "No, that one friggin hurt!" I whined like some four-year-old. Lucy giggled and opened the first aid kit that was propped against a nearby tree. She poured a small amount of antiseptic onto a cloth and grabbed some gauze, walking back over to me.

She didn't even warn me, she just pressed the cloth to my arm and began to clean up the cut.

"Holy shit!" I yelled, jumping at the sudden burst of flames that sprung up in my arm. Lucy gave me a stern look that said _'watch your language'_ but I couldn't care less. I glared right back at her and bit my lip to the point of drawing blood as she finished cleaning and wrapped my arm up again.

I spat some blood on the ground as my young friend began to talk.

"That's the fifth time since we started, Chris. You have to be more careful."

"I hate archery! I suck at it, Luce! I SUCK!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for me to finish my mini temper tantrum, and then she led me through the woods to where my next practice session was due to begin. As the trees thinned we came to the field surrounding the howe, and right at the edge of the wood was Edmund.

Since he had to help his brother prepare for the invasion, I had to take two sword fighting lessons per day. An hour and a half at dawn, and two hours at night. In between these lessons, I would be with Lucy or Mel in the forest, practicing archery.

He was stretching, eyes scanning the trees occasionally. Two swords, one real and one only a practice one, lay on the ground ten feet away accompanied by two large metal shields. "Finally, what took you two so long?" he questioned as we approached him.

He spotted the bandage on my arm. He and his sister shared a look then burst out laughing.

I scowled.

"Arm…up…" the young king gasped between giggles.

I glowered at him for a few moments before walking to the pile of armor next to the swords and shields. Ignoring the chain mail, like I always did, I pulled on the cuirass and tightened the straps on both sides. Then I yanked on the arm guards and picked up my sword, the real sword.

Edmund let me use a real sword since day one, while he used a practice one. Everyone obviously thought I was in no danger of tagging him anytime soon.

At least I was doing better in sword fighting than I was in archery.

I had actually made progress.

Three days ago I could barely lift the heavy hunk of metal, let alone the shield. Edmund had me pinned and my sword across the field in less than a minute. Since then I could now hold the sword correctly, and I could go a full five minutes against the first sword of Narnia before he took my weapon.

Lucy said goodbye, then took the archery supplies back into the caves with her, leaving me alone to fend for myself against the best swordsmen in Narnia.

He took me through various sword and feet positions and attack techniques. When I made a mistake he showed me the correct way to do it and then made me practice it a few more times before moving on to the next technique. This went on for about half an hour.

Finally he stopped me and grabbed his practice sword and shield with a smug smirk on his face.

Sparring time.

"You know, I'm starting to think that I might actually need to wear something to protect myself."

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant. My heart soared at the prospect of him actually telling me that I was giving him a run for his money. My brain laughed and told my heart that it was stupid and naïve to believe that.

"The thought of you with any sort of weapon probably terrifies Aslan himself," he taunted.

_Stupid know-it-all brain. _

I wrinkled my nose at him and got into a fighting stance. He mimicked my actions, the smirk still evident on his face. Oh, how I wanted to wipe that smug look right off his mouth. I narrowed my eyes and waited for his attack.

When it came, it was strong and forceful, almost knocking me to my feet.

Edmund wasn't as large as his brother, but he was definitely just as strong, if not stronger.

I dug the heel of the leather boots I borrowed from susan into the soil and blocked his sword with my shield. "How many times have I told you, using the shield is a last resort. You block with your sword," he lectured.

His hand grasped the edge of my shield and pushed it away from my face. He grabbed my right arm and pushed it up so the sword was on a horizontal slant. Then, he pressed his sword against it vertically.

"Ready?"

I took a deep breath, committing what he showed me to memory, and then stepped back. He regained his fighting stance. I did as well and waited for another attack.

He lunged forward again, and a metallic screech filled the air as I blocked his blade with mine. He smiled "good." I allowed myself a small grin. Then, channeling all my strength into my sword, I rotated my arm, pushing his blade off of mine, and spun around, getting back into my fighting stance.

"Very good," he said, his smile getting bigger. He had taught me that move yesterday, and we spent close to four hours (even though it angered Susan that we were out way after dark) trying to perfect it. I only ended up with a sore arm and a big bruise on my shoulder.

We fought for another five minutes.

Sweat was beading on my forehead and I desperately wished for something lighter than the heavy dress Mel had made for me. I ran the back of my arm along my forehead, watching Edmund as he circled me.

Stupid Bastard, he hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

Suddenly he lunged at my right side. I side stepped him and ducked as he swung his sword around quickly, attempting to get me in the neck. As I stood back up I felt one of his legs knock my feet out from under me.

I hit the ground with a thud, dropping my sword. I groaned angrily as I watched Edmund kick my sword out of my reach, still pointing the practice sword at my throat. My eyes widened as he raised it above his head, getting ready to swing down at me.

He stopped with the sword positioned over his head, and looked down at me.

"Now would be a last resort," he whispered, winking.

Understanding, I grabbed my shield and put it up in front of me just in time to stop the sword from hitting me. Slowly, I rolled to my knees, dodging the thrust of his blade. I was about to stand when he attacked full force.

His sword hit my shield and the pure force of the swing forced me onto my rear end. I rolled to avoid the stab he aimed at me, getting to my feet and eyeing him warily.

My arms were sore, especially the one with the bandage on it. My feet were killing me, and I knew for a fact that I would come out of this training session with about five more bruises to add to my collection.

But part of me was so proud! I had gone longer than five minutes without losing my sword, and even after I had, I was still fighting.

"Edmund, Christina! It's getting dark, session's over!" I heard susan yelling from the howe.

I glanced in that direction, seeing her silhouette disappearing back into the caves when I felt a tremendous force knock me onto my butt, again. When I fell I dropped my shield. Looking up, Edmund was standing on top of my shield, so I couldn't grab it, and the tip of his sword was at my throat again.

"What was the very first rule I told you about fighting?"

His eyes were very serious as he stood there, waiting for me to answer. If I didn't answer I wouldn't be able to get back up. Racking my brain, I thought back to what he had said during our very first training session.

"Don't get distracted!" he cried, impatience taking over.

"But it was susan-"

"If you're going to be fighting in a war, which I highly doubt you will, you'll have hundreds of distractions around you. People will be fighting, yelling, and dying. You will see some of your friends die, but if you take your mind off the fight for one second,"

He paused to push the tip of his sword closer to my neck, poking the skin, "You'll be dead."

I gulped. His eyes were dangerous, and even though he was a couple years younger than me, I was still frightened by the wisdom, and seriousness, and anger, and cruelty behind them. This boy had seen too much to be only 16, it was obvious.

He held out his hand and helped me up, patting my back. His smile lightened the mood.

"You did good, session again tomorrow."

With that, he packed up the swords and shields, took the armor I was wearing, and went inside. I sat in the grass, my back against one of the large stones at the entrance to the howe. Sighing, I leaned my head on the stones.

The sun had begun to set as Edmund and I finished our session. Now the sun was disappearing behind the tree tops, transforming the brilliant red and orange hues to dark blues and purples. Closing my eyes, I thought about my weapon training.

I was getting good at sword fighting. My progress was slow, but I wasn't awful at it, like I was at archery. After I got better, and actually stood a chance in any fight, I could actually see myself liking sword play.

_Like? Swords? Do you realize what happens in a real sword fight?_

I flinched again as an image of me, plunging a sword through the stomach of some man I didn't even know popped into my head. Shaking my head, I tried to rid my brain of that image, but it wouldn't go away.

I was squeamish. I got dizzy at the sight of my own blood. I was absolutely horrified (as in I would rather die than face one) of needles. Yet, I somehow liked sword fighting? That wasn't going to work well.

That's why archery had been my first choice.

If I had to kill people, which I still couldn't imagine doing, I would rather it be indirect. So I wouldn't have to see them die at my hand. Watch the life drain out of their eyes and know that I had just killed an actual human being.

I could've taken someone's father, or brother, or husband, or son. And there would be no way to take it back.

An involuntary shiver rippled through my body as I thought of this.

"Are you alright?"

I jumped, looking for the source of the somewhat familiar voice. When I saw him, standing in the entrance to the Howe, I put my heart to my chest, as if to stop it from beating right out of my skin.

He chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"I-it's ok." I stammered.

"Would you mind if I joined you?"

My eyes widened as I looked up at his handsome face. My stomach erupted into butterflies and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. Thank god it was getting dark. I looked away from his mesmerizing eyes before I began to stare and shrugged.

He lowered himself to the ground next to me and leaned his head against the stone.

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I had never been good around guys. I preferred to just admire them from afar, too nervous to make a move. Most of the time I kept to myself and watched my friends and other girls go after the guys they liked. And most of them ended up having boyfriends.

I was still single, because I was too shy to talk to guys.

"Are you alright?" he repeated.

"Um, y-yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm not sure we've been properly introduced, have we?"

"Not really," I whispered, looking straight ahead. I knew exactly who he was; I didn't need to be introduced. But, as usual, the guy I happened to admire had no idea that I even existed. No, scratch that. He did know I existed, he just had no idea who I was.

In my peripheral vision, I saw him hold out his hand.

"I am Prince Caspian."

"It's nice to meet you, your majesty-""Please, just Caspian." A dark pink blush painted my cheeks. "Nice to meet you, Caspian. I'm Christina" I whispered. "Pleasure to meet you." He still held his hand out, so I nervously reached out and took it.

Instead of shaking it, like I expected, he carefully brought my hand up and pressed a soft kiss to the back of my hand.

I stopped breathing.

I quickly pulled my hand into my lap the second he released it. My head turned up towards the sky and I tried to focus on the beautiful stars. There were so many here. And they were all so bright.

Living in the heart of New York City, I never saw any stars, and even when I left the city, I never got the chance to see them as clearly as I did here. I could feel my mouth open in awe.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?"

Caspian was looking up at the sky. "Mhm," I hummed, still staring at the brilliant sky above. Both of us lost the urge to talk as we sat there, admiring the stars. We just sat there for a while. I didn't really keep track of time.

"Before I …left, my professor would wake me up at night, and we would go star gazing. He would point out the different constellations and tell me each of their stories. Even after he went back to sleep, I stayed out and just…watched."

I turned my head and looked at the side of his face.

There was a faint smile on his face, although his voice sounded almost sad. His deep brown eyes looked black, and they reflected the stars. He seemed so transfixed by each twinkling spot in the sky. I couldn't help but smile at how fascinated he was.

He turned to look at me, his smile growing wider.

"What?"

I looked away quickly, my cheeks a dark scarlet color.

"Nothing." I mumbled.

I could feel him staring at me, but I refused to look at him. If I looked into those big brown orbs I would get hypnotized, I would stare until it got awkward, and then I would run away, my cheeks burning.

"Have you ever star gazed before?"

I looked down a little more, letting my hair fall in front of my face, creating a barrier between me and his penetrating eyes. "I've tried. But no matter where I go, you can never see them as clearly as you can here." I replied.

I looked back up, cracking a small grin at the gorgeous lights above my head.

"Why'd you leave?"

_There you go, blurting stuff out again. _

I glanced up at him and saw a pained expression on his face. I mentally punched myself for asking. "My uncle. He has been after the throne ever since my father died. The only reason he kept me around is because he didn't have an heir. When my aunt gave birth to a son he tried to kill me, so he could take the throne for himself and his son." He breathed.

What was I supposed to say to that? I'm sorry your family wants you dead?

He didn't seem to want a response, which was good, because the best I could come up with was I'm sorry. And, although I had never known the feeling of knowing that your family wanted you dead, I knew that he was tired of hearing I'm sorry's from everyone.

"Christina!"

I jumped, startled by the familiar voice inside the cave.

I had been so caught up in Caspian's words, thinking how to respond to them, that I hadn't noticed how dark it was. "Christina?" Lucy called again. I looked at Caspian, not wanting to leave but knowing that if I stayed the conversation would be awkward.

"I have to go," I whispered, standing up.

He remained seated.

"Goodnight, your majesty," I mumbled before rushing into the main cave. Lucy was standing on the far side of the room, her eyes scanning the few people in the room for me. Quickly, I made my way over to her.

"There you are…where were you?"

"Outside," I answered, hoping she would leave it at that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: thank you to all those that have read so far, it means so much to me! As much as it constantly pains me, i still do not, nor will i ever, own Narnia or any of C.S. Lewis' ****wondrous creations. If you like it, leave a review, it will mean the world to me! Enjoy :)**

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"What were you doing outside?"

I racked my brain for excuses. I couldn't tell her I was with Caspian, that would be taken the wrong way. I wasn't about to tell her I was star gazing, she would think of me as one of those deep, thoughtful people, which I wasn't.

"Um, nothing." was my great reply.

She seemed satisfied with this. "Oh, ok. Have you seen Caspian? Peter's looking for him," She asked me. Should I lie to her, or tell her the truth. _Lie._ I shook my head, not looking at her. She shrugged and wrapped her arm mine, leading me through the dark tunnels.

I was about to ask where we were going when we arrived in the stone table room again.

All the Pevensies were there. Glenstorm and his soldiers were there too. Seeing the intimidating centaur reminded me, I hadn't seen Mel since yesterday evening, I would have to seek her out before I went to sleep. "What's going on?" I whispered to Lucy.

"Peter wanted to make an announcement."

I nodded and followed her over to where Susan and Edmund sat. Lucy took the spot next to Edmund and I leaned against the wall on her left. I waited for Peter to begin speaking, but he didn't. It looked like he was waiting for something.

"What's he waiting for?"

"Caspian," Edmund answered.

At that very moment, we heard footsteps coming through the caves. And then Caspian was there, walking to the middle of the room and standing beside Peter. My stomach twisted into nervous knots as he glanced in my direction.

But he wasn't looking at me.

He was looking at Susan.

Peter had begun to talk, but I wasn't listening. I was so…angry, sad, disappointed that I could've believed for one second that he even cared that I existed. He liked Susan. Susan, who was so beautiful, and smart, and responsible, and…perfect.

Not Christina…who was young, and naïve, and…silly.

I shook my head and convinced myself that Caspian liking Susan had absolutely no affect on me. Then, as if to prove my point to myself, I snapped back to the conversation. "We strike at nightfall tomorrow," Peter was saying.

_That soon?_

"Isn't that a bit soon? Are you sure we're prepared?"

Seems Lucy and I followed the same train of thought. Peter settled for glaring at her for a few seconds, answering her questions without speaking. "That's all for tonight. Get a good night's sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

Watching the Centaurs file out, I was about to go with them when I noticed none of the humans, Pevensies or Caspian, were moving. I hesitated for only a second before turning and starting to leave. "Christina."

My heart rate picked up as I turned to face Peter.

All of them were staring at me, all the Monarchs.

Peter looked very serious as he gestured for me to come back, closer to the group. I shuffled forward, my feet feeling like lead. What had I done? Was I in trouble? "Lucy, Christina, although I'm sure you two are eager to help," _Not really. _"I'm afraid that you will both be staying behind tomorrow evening."

A wave of relief washed through me, instantly followed by guilt.

I should want to help. I shouldn't be happy about missing the chance to be of some use.

"What?" Lucy wailed. I could see that she truly wanted to help. But Peter was her over protective big brother. There was no way on earth (or Narnia, whatever) that he was going to let her put herself in harm's way. I was surprised he was letting Susan go.

"I'm sorry Lu, but it's the only way I can keep you safe."

Lucy looked like she wanted to argue so bad. Her face was flushed red with anger, but I could see how hurt she really was. Tears were brimming in her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks. With a frustrated sigh, she turned on her heel and stomped out of the room.

An awkward silence settled over the small group left.

"Do you have anything you'd like to say, Christina?"

Once again, all eyes were on me. I felt my cheeks warm up. I hated attention. "Um…no. No, I understand," I muttered, not looking at Peter. I tried to make it sound like I was upset, but truly, I was happy.

I was never the brave person. I was never the daring one. I was never the fighter. Infiltrating the enemy's castle and fighting against people who were going to be a billion times more experienced at sword fighting then I was seemed to be a combination of the three.

"Alright, well, goodnight."

I took that as my dismissal. Trying to seem nonchalant, I walked out of the room. The second I was out of sight I picked up my skirt and practically ran to the tiny cave that I shared with Mel and three other centaurs, whose names I still didn't know.

They were all there, but Mel was the only one awake.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day!" Mel whisper/shouted at me. I let go of my skirts and plopped down onto my sleeping mat beside Mel. "I was thinking the same thing earlier. But, um, King Peter was having a meeting and he wanted me to be there."

"When are they going?"

So she knew what the meeting was about. And she also knew that she was probably going to be staying here, with most of the other women. "Tomorrow night," I whispered. "Why did he want you there?"

"He wanted to tell me that I wasn't going with them."

She nodded. Our conversation died out. I lay back on the mat and crossed my arms behind my head, staring at the ceiling of rock. My mind was whirling. I felt so guilty about not wanting to help. I needed to talk to someone. Who better than Mel?

"Mel? Is it bad that I'm relieved?"

The only answer I received was the slow rhythm of her breathing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: I do not own Narnia, or any of the plot points that coincide with the story of Prince Caspian. I personally like this chapter, because you get a little bit of humor, maybe not as much as i could hope for, but there is some there! Let me know what you all think, I'm preparing and editing chapters now, so a pretty steady stream of updates should be coming for the next few days! Read/Enjoy/Review! **

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"Christina!"

I rolled over in my sleep, ignoring the young voice that had called my name. "Christina, get up." Groaning, I put both my arms over my head and blocked my ears, attempting to block out her voice. "Christina, Edmund's going to be very irritated with you. You're already late."

"What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter. Just get up."

With that said, she began to shake me. I whined like a two year old for a good five minutes before she pulled me to my feet and literally dragged me through the tunnels. When we got outside I groaned and shut my eyes tightly as a bright light momentarily blinded me.

"About time," Edmund's gruff voice huffed.

"I thought you were raiding the castle today," I muttered, slowly opening my eyes.

"Tonight. That still gives you two full hours of fun!"

He thrust the armor into my hands. Cursing to myself, I tightened the cuirass and put on the wrist protectors. "Not a morning person?" He teased, smiling happily at my angry expression. That was it.

I was going to kill him.

With my sword in one hand and my shield in the other I took a fighting stance glaring at Edmund. Today would be the day that I beat him. He didn't pick up his sword or shield. "Oh no, you're not fighting me today." His smirk grew bigger.

"Then who-"

"Me."

I whirled around and came face to face with Prince Caspian. As I looked up at his hulking frame I couldn't help but feel my thoughts of winning vanish. This man was huge. I had to look straight up to look in his eyes, and the amount of muscles he had could probably add up to my entire body weight.

He wore wrist guards and held a sword. He didn't even have a shield. A smug smirk appeared on his lips as he watched my eyes widen. "King Edmund had said that you were progressing in sword play, and I had to see it for myself." He explained, his smile growing bigger.

"Edmund?" I turned around to face him, wordlessly pleading him to tell Caspian no.

"It's good practice. And I made Caspian promise not to hurt you too badly."

His tone was light and joking. He thought this was funny. They both did.

Anger washed through my veins as I glared at both of them. I was so prepared to fight Edmund. To get revenge for waking me up so early for the past few days, but I had no reason to be angry with Caspian.

The image of him staring at Susan popped into my mind.

More anger ran through me as I channeled the wave of emotions that one look made me feel into pure anger. Then I added the anger of waking up early to the mix. Oh, I was ready to slaughter someone. Poor Caspian, he didn't know what was going to hit him.

Without another word, I got into a fighting stance and waited for Caspian to catch on.

"So serious," he chuckled.

"Stalling? Why? Scared?" I quirked an eyebrow, challenging him.

Unlike every other guy I knew, he didn't react to this. Most men would get angry and immediately protest to being scared. Then they would start fighting. But Caspian remained calm and collected. His smile faltered ever so slightly, but that was all.

He took a fighting stance as well, and I waited for his attack.

We stood there for a moment, analyzing one another, and wondering who would make the first move. Suddenly, Caspian lunged forward. I narrowly missed his sword as I stepped to the side. Turning, I caught sight of him coming back. This time I didn't have a chance to step out of the way.

Our swords clashed together.

Man, he was strong.

I almost dropped my sword and fell onto my knees from that hit. We stood there for only a second, our blades crossed, looking at one another. My strength was disintegrating, if I didn't break contact now, I would be forced onto my knees and I would lose.

Quickly, I brought my knee up and landed a blow directly to his stomach.

He staggered back, breaking our contact. I jumped back and used this moment to regain some strength and energy. Watching him, doubled over and coughing, I felt the tiniest bit of guilt. I definitely knocked the wind out of him.

But he should be happy. If I were in a real fight I would have hit him below the belt.

But that was unfair in just a simple sparring match.

After a minute he regained his breath and looked up at me, a smiling. I frowned. "It's going to take a lot more than that to win against me." he teased. "Careful Caspian. She can hold her own against me, and judging by the looks of it, she's angry. So I wouldn't taunt too much." Edmund warned, smiling nonetheless.

_Good boy, Edmund._

Caspian just chuckled and got back into a fighting stance. He swung his sword out at me, and I ducked. I was about to stand up when I remembered yesterday's sparring match with Edmund. Copying my instructor's movements, I swung my leg out and knocked his feet out from under him.

Straightening out, I saw Caspian had dropped his sword.

I was about to kick it away when I felt my feet fly out from under me.

A sharp pain went through my back when I hit the ground, but I held onto my sword. Caspian had gotten to his feet. _Shit._ I climbed to my feet and scrambled to get my shield, but he had already kicked it away.

_Double shit._

He looked slightly agitated now. He began to strike, quicker and faster. Random, blind stabs flew at me from every direction and I was having trouble dodging all of them. I felt a sting on the back of my hand as I realized that his blade had grazed me.

The cut wasn't that big. It wasn't a paper cut, but it wasn't a giant gash either.

I tore my eyes away from it as he stabbed at me again. His sword passed my left cheek by an inch. "Whoa, dude, watch it. This is not to the death," I snapped, getting more angry as the sting in my hand intensified.

As he continued lashing out with lighting fast speed, I tried to watch his sword and block his attacks, instead of just stepping away from it. Metallic crashes filled the air as our swords connected, but he didn't try to force me to the ground again, he only pulled away and went at me from another angle.

This sporadic fighting went on for a good five minutes before I got tired.

My hand was really beginning to hurt and I knew that I was bleeding. I could feel the blood dripping off my hand and onto the ground. Shaking that dizzying thought away, I clenched my teeth and stabbed at him.

He swung his sword at me again and I ducked.

As I was straightening up I saw him swing his leg out. I jumped over it and swung at him when he stood. Our swords connected and once more we stood, staring at one another, blades crossed in front of our faces.

Breathing heavily, I rotated my arm, just like Edmund taught me, and I threw his blade off of mine. Then, before he knew what hit him, I swung my sword at his sword with all of my might. A loud metallic crash filled the air, followed by a dull thump.

His sword was ten feet away, on the ground.

My mind raced as I stared at it. I won! I had beat Caspian. A smile lit up my face as my arm fell limp against my side, still holding my sword. I looked over at Edmund to see what he would say. His eyes widened for a moment, from the sheer shock, and then he smiled widely at me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I felt a tremendous force hit my already aching back.

Hitting the ground, I looked over my shoulder to see Caspian, holding, my shield. He grinned smugly at me and kicked away the sword that had fallen out of my hand when I fell. Then, he tossed the shield away and stood above me, smiling triumphantly.

"Draw!" Edmund shouted.

_Draw? Why would we want to draw right now?_

_It means a tie, you moron._

_Oh._

Caspian, who still stood above me, held out his hand. I glared at it, getting to my feet without touching him. "No, that's not fair! I won," I shouted. Caspian stood there, grinning at my childish behavior as Edmund shook his head.

"What was the first rule I told you about sword fighting?"

_Damnit._

"You guys suck."

I crossed my arms and went to stomp off dramatically when Edmund lazily draped an arm over my shoulders and lead me the opposite way. "You forgot. You have archery with Lucy." He guided me through the woods, Caspian trailing behind us.

I kept my arms crossed and pouted.

_I won. Not Caspian, me._

When we arrived in the small clearing, Lucy already had everything set up. The said girl was sitting in the knee high grass, examining her small dagger. Hearing us approach, she stood up and put her dagger back in her belt, walking towards us.

"What happened?"

"Caspian and Edmund cheated. I won the sparring match." I grumbled.

"Who cares about the sparring match, what happened to your hand?"

I glanced down and winced at the sight of blood. It was still dripping off of my hand, and had stained my dress. Mel was going to be so angry. Lucy hurried to the tree with the first aid kit, and came back with a wet cloth that had been soaked with antiseptic.

She flashed me a warning glance, telling me to keep my mouth shut and not fire off curses around the two men.

She then proceeded to press the cloth onto my stinging cut. Fire shot through my veins and I clapped my hand to my mouth to prevent the long string of profanities I wanted to scream out loud. After the cut was successfully cleaned, the blood gone, and my hand bandaged, she took the things back to the first aid kit and left me standing with Caspian and Edmund.

"Christina, I am so sorry. I had no idea that I had tagged you. If I did-"

"It's fine. I barely noticed it throughout the whole thing." I interrupted.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

I faked a smile, since I was still in such a bad mood, and looked up at the tall man. "I'm fine." He looked very unconvinced, but didn't get the chance to press the issue because Lucy had came back.

"I think it's fair to say that you'll want the arm guards today, yes?"

I nodded, untying the cuirass and handing it to Edmund before Lucy handed me the bow and a quiver of arrows. Sighing, I trudged to my mark in the clearing, knocked an arrow back, and tried to take aim.

"Come on, Caspian, you don't want to see this one with an arrow." I heard Edmund whisper.

There was no movement though, so I assumed they were all watching me. Nerves tingled through my body and a light blush painted my cheeks as I tried to focus on the target. But the feeling of their eyes on my back was distracting me.

I inhaled deeply, and let go, exhaling as the arrow flew through the air.

It landed about fifty feet away from the target. Growling, I grabbed another arrow and took aim again. This time, I pulled the string back further than I normally did. When I let go I felt the string slap against my thumb, but I thought nothing of it.

The arrow soared through the air and flew to the right of the target, getting lost in the woods somewhere.

"Lucy! Did you see that, it went farther than the target!" I cheered, grinning.

I turned around to see Lucy and Edmund smiling, but Caspian just looked confused. "Why is she happy that it didn't hit the target?" he wondered quietly, but I still heard him. "You should have seen her the other day! It barely made it ten feet in the air, this is progress for her." Edmund chuckled.

"Oh, shut up! I can hear you, you know!"

"Come on now, Christina, keep going." Lucy instructed, a bright and optimistic smile on her face. At least I was improving. Heaving a deep sigh, I turned back around and was about to knock an arrow back when my eyes landed on my thumb.

There was a large red mark on the knuckle.

But there was no blood, which was definitely a plus. I set down my bow and arrow, and turned around to face the group of observers behind me. "Luce, string snapped my thumb." I called to her, looking at my hand.

A round of laughing filled the clearing.

_Douches. _

Muttering angrily to myself, I stomped over to the tree that had the first aid kit and knelt down next to it. There lay a pair of leather gloves. I pulled them on and tucked them beneath the arm guards.

"I've been telling you to wear those since day one."

I jumped. This girl seriously had a knack for sneaking up behind a person, whether she knew it or not. With my hand on my heart, I turned to look at her, slightly irritated.

"Well, my arms have been taking most of the beating. This is a first for my hand."

Rolling her eyes, she smiled anyways and took my other hand, leading me back to my mark. "You're not focusing hard enough," she whispered to me. "I can't focus with Caspian and Edmund here," I replied quietly.

"I sent them away."

She leaned down and picked up my bow and handed me another arrow. I knocked it back and lifted the bow, taking aim. "Straighten this elbow more. Now, when you release, exhale at the same time you let go. It helps, I promise."

I did as she said.

Exhaling, I allowed my fingers to slip from the string. The arrow flew through the air, and I watched it. My breath hitched in anticipation as it got closer and closer to the target. My hope was immediately shot down when it flew about three feet over the top of the target.

It was still an improvement.

"I give up." I huffed, flopping down onto the ground.

Lucy tapped her foot and crossed her arms, staring at me like a parent would a child who was in the middle of throwing a temper tantrum. "Don't say that. You're doing really well. Improving, actually." I glared up at her.

"Lucy, I think we should accept the fact that I suck at archery."

"No, you shouldn't." I looked up to see Caspian walking towards Lucy and I. Edmund hovered at the edge of the clearing, leaning against a tree and smirking, obviously amused. I frowned, glancing at Lucy.

"I thought you said you sent them away."

"I had to say something to get you to focus."

"And we didn't want to miss the show!"

I glared at Edmund. His smile was very apparent, even from fifty feet away. Trying my best to ignore his taunting, I looked up as Caspian once again held out a hand to help me up. Defeated, I grabbed his hand and was hauled to my feet.

"Queen Lucy, would you, perhaps, give us a moment? I want to try something."

Lucy smiled sadly and shot a glance at me before skipping over to her brother. They immediately began to mutter quietly amongst themselves, giggling every so often. I knew, for a fact, that they were talking about me.

My attention was drawn back to where I stood when Caspian poked an arrow in my face.

I took it, eyeing him warily. He nodded his head, urging me to knock it back, which I did. "Take aim," he commanded in a soft but harsh voice. Apprehensively, I pulled the string back further and lifted the bow next to my eye.

"Relax," he whispered.

_Easy for him to say._ He wasn't being circled by a **prince** who also happened to be the most perfect person he had ever seen in his entire life. I tried to watch him in my peripheral vision, since I was supposed to be taking aim, but I lost sight of him as he walked behind my back.

I flinched at the feel of his hand, touching my elbow. My cheeks warmed at the same moment.

"This elbow needs to be stiff, but relaxed."

I did as he said, straightening my elbow and tensing my muscles so it was locked in place. My breathing increased rapidly as he placed his hand on top of my left, which was holding the bow. "Move these fingers down just a little…perfect."

He didn't move his hand. He kept it on top of mine.

He ran his other hand, his fingers ghosting on top of my sleeve, up my stretched up, to my shoulder. "This arm needs to be perfectly straight," he instructed. I instantly straightened my bent elbow.

I felt his fingers leave my shoulder and gasped when he touched my forehead.

"Relax," he breathed, whispering in my ear.

I felt his hot breath on my neck and tingles shot through my body, leaving goosebumps in their wake. It wasn't until now that I realized that my eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. When Caspian's warm, calloused fingers traced the lines on my forehead they instantly smoothed out.

Once more removing his fingers from my body, he stepped right behind me.

The arm that was connected to the hand that was laid over mine at the front of the bow was perfectly in line with mine. His other hand had settled itself on my right shoulder. Both of our sides faced the target and our feet were lined up, only a foot apart.

"Let go," he commanded almost silently.

I immediately released the string and arrow, but I didn't watch it soar through the air with hope like last time. I could only pay attention to the goosebumps and the tingles that were running through my body.

Caspian still hadn't removed his hands from my body yet.

Gulping, I forced myself to focus on where the arrow had landed. It only took me a second of looking before I saw the end of the arrow, _my_ arrow, protruding from the outer rim of the target. A jolt of electricity shot through me as I smiled.

I did it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I would first like to thank "Luv" for the review! I appreciate it so much. In answer to your review, I believe Lucy and Christina just click better than Christina and Susan do. It would just make more sense for Lucy to volunteer her time than Susan. Not to mention the fact that Lucy is also a very talented archer, in the books, and in the third film, you can see her skill; she may not be as good as Susan, but for the purposes of teaching Christina for a "just in case" event, it will work. **

**As always, I don't own Narnia. Bear with me, the tension is building and we should be into the thick of everything in just a few chapters. Enjoy! **

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"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, smiling as Lucy and Edmund jogged over to us.

Lucy hugged me with a large smile on her face while Edmund merely grinned and clapped me on the back. He patted caspian's shoulder too. "Well done, Caspian. I didn't think it was possible." He stated.

I tore away from Lucy's hug to glare at him for a minute, not saying anything.

"Perhaps, Caspian, you should be Christina's archery instructor, seeing as how she has improved more in your presence than she has over the past four days!" Lucy giggled. My eyes widened, and I looked down, embarrassed.

They all just chuckled for a few moments before Edmund changed the subject.

"It must be close to ten. We should probably go find some breakfast."

And, right on cue, his stomach rumbled loudy, a deep gurgling noise, as if to agree with him. We laughed and Caspian and Edmund began the walk back to the howe while Lucy and I packed up the archery things.

"You like him," she sing songed as we followed a good twenty feet behind the boys.

"Who?"

My cheeks turned pink, giving me away. I already knew exactly who it was she was talking about, but I didn't admit it to myself. I did not like him. I just thought of him as an extremely attractive man, and that was all.

"You know exactly who!"

"I don't like him. I just…"

"Blush every time he's around? Stare at him when you think no one's looking? Get all nervous and jumpy at the mere mention of his name?" she listed, smirking. Damn her and her good observation.

"He likes Susan."

We arrived at the howe then, and I hurried in before she had the chance to argue with me. After dropping off the archery stuff in the weapons room I trekked through the dark tunnels, looking for Mel.

I knew she was going to be angry about her dress getting ruined, but I also knew she would get over it fairly quick. When I finally found her, she was grabbing a few pieces of toast from another centaur, who happened to be the "cook". He was the only one who knew how to prepare small rations to feed an entire army quickly and easily, that's why he was in charge of food.

"Good morning, Chris," she greeted when I approached her.

"Toast?" There was a crispy piece of bread in her hand, outstretched toward me, but I shook my head, uncrossing my arms. Instantly her eyes zoned in on the blood stain on the front of my dress.

"What happened?" her face reminded me of Lucy's, covered with worry.

"I was sparring. It's nothing really, I'm fine. But I just wanted to apologize for ruining your dress. I actually did like it," I said quickly, smiling up at her guiltily. "It's fine. I knew that it wouldn't last long anyway. A girl like you is prone to accidents."

"Funny…ha ha," I muttered sarcastically.

"What are you going to wear now? I don't have another dress for you."

I hadn't thought that far yet. I wasn't about to wear a blood stained dress for the next few weeks, or however long this "war" was going to last. And I wasn't going to ask Susan either, she was probably going to give me some fancy, girly dress that had no place in the middle of a war.

"I think I'll ask Edmund to borrow some pants and a shirt. Or I'll wear my school uniform."

The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. After talking for a few more minutes with Mel I said goodbye and headed off in search of Edmund. I had no idea where his sleeping cave was, or even if the poor guy slept, but I just wandered and hoped to find him. Or find someone that knew where he was.

It seems the latter came first.

"Hello, Christina, how are you today?"

The high king looked tired and stressed. I smiled sympathetically at him as he put on what I recognized as a fake grin. "I'm fine, King Peter. And yourself?" He shrugged, both of us knowing the answer.

"King peter, do you, by any chance, know where King Edmund is? I need to ask him something."

"Ed? He's in the stone table room."

"Oh, thank you." I smiled and curtsied to the high king before turning and weaving my way through the tunnels. Eventually I found the large room and saw my friend sitting on the stairs that lead to the large carving of the great lion, Aslan.

"Hey."

He looked up. His eyes were stressed and I could tell he was worried, even though he smiled brightly at me. "Hi," he greeted, patting the spot next to him. I sat down, nudging him playfully, somehow wishing that would console his worry, but I knew it didn't.

"Um, Ed, I was wondering…" I trailed off….how would I go about this? I had never asked someone other than my parents for clothes before. "Yes?" he prompted, waiting for me to finish my statement. I met his eyes for only a second before I looked down, my cheeks bright pink

"I was wondering if I could borrow some clothes, because my dress has blood on it."

He was quiet for a minute, thinking I guessed, before he responded. "Sure," he stood up, waiting for me to stand too. "But I'm just curious as to why you don't want to ask Susan for a dress." He left the cave and I followed him as he led me to a cave I hadn't seen before. I guessed this was where he and Peter slept. If they slept at all.

"I like pants," I replied simply, shrugging.

He shrugged too then left me standing at the mouth of the cave while he dug around in a trunk. When he turned around he held a puffy white shirt, a brown pair of pants, and a plain brown belt. "They might be a bit big on you, but I'm sure that's alright," he stated, handing them to me and leaving so I could change really quick.

I kicked off my shoes then pulled the dress over my head, tossing it onto the floor. The pants were big on me, but I tightened the belt around my waist so they wouldn't fall. Then I pulled the fluffy white shirt over my head and pulled my boots back on, tucking the bottom of the pants into them.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I looked down at myself.

I looked like a pirate.

When I exited the room, dirty dress in hand, Edmund was leaning against the wall, picking at his nails. He laughed when he saw me, which, in turn, made me frown. "Do I look bad?" He shook his head quickly. "No, no…it's just that you're supposed to tuck that in." he motioned to my shirt.

Again, I shrugged.

"And you're supposed to tie that."

He gestured to the dip in the neck on the front of the shirt. Instead of buttons there, which some shirts had, it had strings. I didn't know whether to tie them or not, so I just left them alone. Now that he had told me, I looked down and tried to tie it.

Five failed attempts later, and a couple of knots, I threw my hands up in frustration.

Edmund grinned and stepped forward. "May I?" He asked, hands frozen in mid air. I nodded, and held my breath as he stepped closer to me and took the two ties in his hand. It was a teense bit awkward, being this close to him with his hands that close to my chest. After all, he was just my friend.

After he finished tying it, he stepped away and smiled.

"Great, now we have to go meet with everyone in the stone table room and help prepare for the raid tonight," he told me, taking my hand and leading me back to where we were before. Everyone was already gathered, waiting on the two of us to join.

Blushing, I avoided the staring eyes as I hurried over to stand beside Lucy and Susan.

"What are you wearing?" Lucy whispered as Peter began to talk. "My dress was dirty," I answered, not really answering her question. "You could've asked Sue or me for a dress, we would have been happy to oblige," she chastised. I rolled my eyes, "I know…I'm just more comfortable in pants, that's all."

Then we remained silent so we could hear what Peter and Caspian were saying.

Soon, all the soldiers filed out and headed towards the armory to get armor and weapons. All the humans stayed behind. Caspian, Peter, and Edmund were discussing something in hushed whispers as Lucy and I stood in a silent triangle with Susan.

I wanted to say something to help Susan, since she was obviously very nervous, but I had no idea what to say.

Soon the three boys joined our circle and began to say goodbye. Both kings hugged Lucy tightly, and she cried as she told them to be safe. Susan hugged me, and I patted her back awkwardly. "Good luck, be safe," I whispered in her ear, not knowing what else to say.

Edmund and Peter looked at me. Edmund gave me an awkward, one armed hug while peter just nodded at me. "Don't get hurt," I whispered to Edmund, telling myself that I needed to work on things like this. He nodded and gave my hand a quick squeeze before the three of them left.

Caspian bowed to Lucy. "Your Majesty," he said curtly.

Lucy just sighed and quickly threw her arms around Caspian, catching him off guard. Then she pulled away and smiled sadly at him. "Stay safe," she commanded, softly but still harshly. He nodded, faking a smile.

His dark, brooding eyes turned to me.

I looked down, unable to meet his gaze. "Good luck, Caspian," I murmured, staring at the floor. I felt him grab my hand, causing me to look up. His eyes stayed on mine, even as he bent down and pressed his lips on the back of my hand, yet again.

Goosebumps covered my flesh as I stared at him, surprised, nervous, and unbreathing. He pulled away and bowed his head, breaking eye contact. "Goodbye, milady," he muttered. When he stood up again I looked down as I said, "Just, don't die, Caspian."

He bowed once again and hurried out of the cave, after the others.

When I finally looked up my cheeks were burning and Lucy was smiling at me, tears still rolling down her face. "What?" I demanded, going and sitting on the ground in front of the stone table. She climbed onto the surface behind me, smiling down.

"Nothing," she replied in a way that told me there was obviously _something_, but I didn't push it.

Lucy and I stayed in the stone table room, even after we heard everyone leave. Lucy kept playing with a small bottle that was kept in a pouch on her belt, beside her dagger. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't really say anything either.

All night we sat there, waiting for someone to tell us that they were back. Lucy fell in and out of sleep while I just sat there, trying to get a tiny nap in. But sleep never came. I kept imagining the worst possible things that could be happening to my friends. Then I would shake my head and mutter something like "They know what they're doing."

The next thing I knew, I was being awoken by Lucy.

"They're back!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Hi guys! I still don't own Narnia, sadly. Normally I like to keep my notes short and sweet. However, since we begin to see more of a characterization of Christina, I thought I should confront the "Mary-Sue" warnings that every story and every character gets at some point. I have done my best to make Christina as real as possible. I think (i HOPE) in the next coming chapters you begin to see her real development, in which she is not a tough, spunky girl with a soft side, but a confused, scared, lost girl who did not ask to be thrown into a war among people she is not affiliated with. Alright, I'm done now! Thank you for continuing to read, let me know what you think!**

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She jumped off the giant slab of stone and ran out of the cave, not even waiting for me. I got to my feet and ran after her, my heart pulsing in my ears. I followed Lucy into the dull gray light and stopped about ten feet behind her as I watched who came back from battle.

An overwhelming sense of grief washed over me when I looked at the warriors.

Peter and Caspian were leading the pack, with Edmund and Susan right behind them. But what scared me the most was the fact that more than half of those who had left the night before were no longer there. Everyone's face was a mask of sadness and loss, except the Prince and the High King.

Peter looked furious, like he was about to literally kill someone on the spot.

Caspian's face was cool and collected, but his eyes were black pools of depression.

"What happened?" Lucy asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Honestly, I was scared to hear the answer. Peter's scowl deepened and he glared straight ahead. "Ask him." Everyone knew he was talking about Caspian.

A strange urge to stand up for Caspian arose in me when I heard Peter say this. Why was Peter blaming him? Sure, Caspian had his part in this, but it wasn't only his fault. Peter was the one who decided to go to Miraz's castle! If it was anyone's fault, it was his.

_Let's be fair here. Listen to what they have to say._

"Peter," Susan warned.

"Me?"

Peter turned around and faced him, his chest puffed out and his nose up arrogantly. I saw Caspian's calm exterior slowly give way to fury. A confrontation was about to happen, everyone could sense it.

"You could have called it off, there was still time," Caspian defended himself.

Fire flashed behind Peter's eyes and I was surprised that he hadn't punched anyone yet. "No, there wasn't, thanks to you. If you'd kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now." I glared at the back of Peter's head. How dare he blame Caspian for the death of those people!

"And if you'd just stayed here like I'd suggested they definitely would be," he raised his voice.

"You called us, remember?" Peter snapped irritantly. He was wrong, and he knew it. "My first mistake," Caspian muttered coldly, glaring down at the High King. "No," peter shook his head, "Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people."

"HEY!"

I flinched at the harshness and volume of Caspian's voice. He was so angry; I was truly scared of him right now. Peter turned around, shocked that someone had the audacity to shout at him. Good for Caspian, Peter deserved it.

"I am not the one who abandoned Narnia."

"You invaded Narnia," Peter growled, pointing an accusing finger at the prince, who looked utterly sick with just standing there. Caspian pushed past Peter while the blonde haired one continued to yell at him.

"You have no more right here than Miraz does."

Ouch, that was harsh.

Caspian clenched his teeth and continued walking, determined to be the bigger person here. I couldn't help myself; I scooted away just a tad when he passed me. He was so angry, so although I felt terrible about what Peter had said, I didn't want to bug him now.

"You, him, your Father, Narnia is better off without the lot of you!"

My breath hitched in my throat as I heard this. Wasn't Caspian's father dead? Didn't Peter know that? I knew he was angry, but he had no right to go talking about caspian's father. He didn't even know his father.

I clapped my hand to my mouth to refrain from screaming in terror as I heard both Caspian and Peter let out roars of anger and unsheathe their swords, pointing them at the other's throats. "Stop it!" Edmund yelled, attracting attention to him.

"Oh no," I whispered to myself, seeing what was happening behind the fight between the boys.

Glenstorm was carrying a limp Trumpkin, who was the dwarf who had been in the clearing with the Kings and Queens the first day I had been here. With Edmund and Susan's help he was laid gently on the ground.

Lucy rushed forward, pulling out the small bottle on her belt.

Kneeling beside the injured dwarf, she uncapped the little vial and dropped a single drop into his mouth. Caspian had put his sword back in the sheath at his waist and was storming away into the howe, not even concerned about the poor dwarf's safety.

I only glanced at Caspian for a second before I turned my attention back to the hurt Narnian. He was now leaning up on his elbows and observing the scene around him, a look of agitation plain on his face.

"What are you all standing around for? The telmarines will be here soon enough."

Sadly, everyone filed into the howe, going their spate ways to greive.

"Thank you, my dear little friend," I heard Trumpkin say to Lucy before I left. I honestly didn't feel much grief; I didn't know any of the people who had died. But I'd be lying if I said I was completely unaffected. Knowing that fact that anyone had died at all, especially fighting for their country, filled me with sadness and an odd feeling of pride in that person.

After wandering the caves for a little while I found the cave I slept in and flopped onto the mat.

Poor Caspian. He didn't deserve to be attacked by peter like that. Quietly, I promised myself that I would offer my apologies for what the rude king said and tell him that I honestly didn't think it was his fault, in hopes of cheering him up. Even though I know it won't, it's worth a shot.

With that decided I laid my head on the pillow and drifted to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of a loud, painful howling echoing through the caves.

I jolted up and looked around, wondering what on earth that noise was. The cave was dark and I was still the only one in here. Carefully, I got up and tip toed to the tunnel outside the room. It was deserted. My heart pounding in my chest and my breathing short and shallow, I left the room, looking for whatever had made that noise.

As I wandered closer to the main cave, I heard yelling and another howl.

My eyebrows knit together as I followed the noises. Was Miraz's army here? Were we under attack and I had just slept through the beginning of it. I hoped that was not the case.

The noises stopped, just like that. The tunnels and caves were eerily silent as I held my breath and froze, waiting for some noise to meet my ears. When it did, it was the sound of something crumbling to the stone floor.

Was the roof caving in?

Before I had time to answer my own question, quick footsteps were coming my way.

I held my breath and pressed myself against the wall. Whoever it was would still see me, but I hoped that staying out of their way would prove to be sufficient enough to let me live. The footsteps got closer and closer and my heart beat faster and faster.

Edmund came into view, rushing around the corner.

"Edmund? What's going on?" I demanded, stepping away from the wall.

The poor boy looked as if someone had just stabbed a puppy, threw it in front of a car, and then said it was all his fault. He looked so pained and angry and sad….just looking at him made me want to cry.

All he did was glance at me then continue walking without acknowledging what I had said.

A small burst of my own anger formed and I chased after him, refusing to be ignored.

"Edmund? Edmund….don't ignore me! What the hell happened?" I called after him, practically running to keep up with his brisk steps. Suddenly he stopped and whirled around to face me, anger the dominant emotion at the moment.

"I can't get away from her! Nothing I do is good enough and I just can't get rid of her!"

I stepped back, shocked and confused by this hopeless, angry, confusing declaration. What was he talking about? Curiosity burned inside me, but the second I saw tears of anger welling in his eyes I decided not to speak.

Instead I just stood there, watching him stare at me for only a minute longer before he practically flew into the main cave and out the entrance of the howe.

I was still frozen there, trying to sort out all Edmund had said when Lucy and Trumpkin came from the same direction as Edmund had only a minute ago. They both seemed surprised to see me. "Oh, hello Christina. You've met Trumpkin, haven't you?"

I looked down and took his hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you," I muttered.

"Lucy, what's wrong with Edmund?" I asked, looking her in the eyes. She looked down. I could tell she didn't want to tell me what was wrong with her brother, but she had to. I already knew something was wrong, I just didn't know the details.

"Come, I'll tell you in my room." She said goodbye to Trumpkin and took my hand, pulling me to her cave. We sat down on the mat and I stared at her, waiting for her to start.

"Have you heard the story of how we first got here?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, not sure what this had to do with it, but nodded my head.

"Well, Aslan brought us here to fulfill the prophecy. The two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve overthrow the evil white witch and save Narnia from eternal winter," she began. "Yeah, I know the story," I told her, trying to urge her to get to the point.

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but Edmund was the "traitor" as most legends put it."

Mel hadn't told me that part of the story. I had no idea Edmund was the one who had betrayed the Pevensies and told the white witch where they were and that they were planning to stop her. I didn't know Edmund was the one Aslan sacrificed himself for.

That changed a lot.

"Yes, I know," Lucy whispered, seeing the realization on my face.

She then proceeded to tell me all about his emotions during the "Golden Age". How he never felt like he was good enough and always strove to be better, to prove that he wasn't a traitor and that he deserved to be a King.

"And he was doing a lot better…until today."

"What happened, Lucy?" I asked again, quietly.

"Knickabrick, the other dwarf that was friends with trumpkin, convinced Caspian to make a deal with a hag and a wolf. All three of them were supporters of the white witch. By making that deal with them, he almost brought her back to life."

"How'd he do that?"

She told me how the witch had been able to reach one hand out through the ice and how they had cut Caspian's palm and told him to touch her. If she had come in contact with one drop of a human boy's blood she would have been brought back to life.

"Lucky Peter heard the talking." She murmured.

After another twenty minutes of describing what had happened, I sat on her mat in front of her, speechless. I felt nothing but sympathy and pity towards Edmund, and pure fury towards Peter and Caspian.

"Come on, let's go practice."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Why would we practice now? Shouldn't we find Edmund and make sure he's ok?" She smiled sadly at me as she led me to the weapons room. "I know you want to help, Christina, but Edmund needs some time alone right now."

I sighed. She was right.

After we set everything up in the clearing I pulled on the leather gloves and arm guards. Then I stood on my mark and took aim. I couldn't focus, all I thought about was how awful I felt for Edmund. And how terrible Caspian was, for almost bringing back the one woman who almost ended Narnia.

I didn't even realize I had let go of the arrow. Until I heard Lucy sigh.

"You're too distracted," she stated, hands on her hips. "What do you expect me to do? I'm surprised you're not more upset by this. Edmund is your brother, you know," I replied, looking at her. She crossed her arms. "I know, but there are more important things going on right now."

"Like what?"

"Miraz's army is coming here. To fight us! With hundreds of more men then we have."

A chill settled in my bones and I my breathing sped up. "What?" I wondered, hoping what she had said wasn't true. "Yes, I know. We're going to need everyone we could possibly get, including you."

I froze, staring at her.

_Me? She wants __**me**__ to fight in a war?_

My hands became cold and clammy, and raked my fingers through my hair. "Lucy, I can't fight! I-I'm from New York! The worst fight I've ever been in was kicking my sister and pulling her hair!" I wailed, feeling dizzy.

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do! In case you haven't noticed, I get sick at the sight of blood. A simple little spider scares the crap out of me! I am not a fighter, I am a stay in your small little corner and just get through life kind of person!"

My breathing was becoming short and labored.

I couldn't believe she actually wanted me to fight.

I sat on the grass and pulled my knees to my chest, burying my face in my hands. The image of me, thrusting a sword into a man's gut was replaying over and over in my mind. My stomach twisted painfully and I almost cried out in pain, pleading my brain to stop the image.

A hand appeared on my shoulder, and I flinched away from it.

"Christina, I know," Lucy whispered, settling herself down to me.

"Lucy, I can't fight in a war. I just want to go home," I muttered brokenly, still very nervous about the mere thought of battle. "Did I ever tell you the first time I came to Narnia I was only 11?" I looked at her, a lump forming in my throat as I realized I was about to cry.

"No," I choked out.

"I was only 11. And I watched Aslan get stabbed on the stone table by the white witch."

I clenched my teeth. I couldn't deal with gory words like stab right now. My mind was way too vulnerable. "I was only 11 when I saw my brother almost die from a stab wound inflicted by the white witch."

_Edmund. _

I squeezed my eyes shut. Why couldn't she just drop this? Why couldn't she just wander through the woods with me until we found Aslan? And then I could go home and he could help them stop the war.

"You know, I grew up in Narnia. I spent close to 15 years here, during the "Golden Age" as they call it," she told me, a reminiscent smile on her face. "I saw more than one war, and I saw countless men lose their lives."

"Lucy, can we please stop talking about this?" I asked, trying to make my voice as even as possible. "All I'm saying is, I know what's going through your mind now, Christina. I know you're not a fighter, I know you don't think that you could kill a man, and I pray to Aslan that you don't have to."

I looked up at her, my eyebrows furrowed and my jaw clenched painfully.

"But I do want you to know, that I know exactly what you're going through. I came from a town in England. Granted, it was during world war 2 and I had seen people die, but I had never killed a person before. And if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

"I'd rather not talk, I'd rather just not do." I mumbled, regaining a bit of my composure.

We sat in silence for a few awkward seconds. That image played through my mind over and over and over. Finally it became too much. "I'm really tired, so, if you don't mind, I think I'll go take a nap," I stated, standing up quickly.

She nodded, looking up at me sadly.

"Do you need any help with picking the stuff up?" I asked, looking around at the equipment

"No, you go ahead."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: one more chapter for tonight, just because I really love Edmund and I'm also somewhat antsy to get into the battle portion. I do not own any of Narnia or its many facets. Enjoy!**

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So where to go?

The image in my mind, becoming more and more vivid as it played in slow motion, kept me from forming any coherent thought. All I knew was that I needed a place to think, and I needed one now. The howe came into view as I emerged from the forest and I saw two figures right above the entrance.

As I got closer I realized it was Caspian and an older man I didn't recognize.

The fear, and the sickness, and the dizziness that had been overwhelming me just a moment ago took the backseat as anger flared in my veins. He was the one who hurt my friend. He was the one that almost brought the white witch back. He was the one that liked Susan.

_Prick._

My thoughts were absolutely incoherent as my emotions from earlier conflicted with my anger. All I could do was sit down in front of the small arch at the beginning of the path to the howe and cradle my head in my hands.

What was I going to do?

Lucy, Susan, Peter, Edmund, the Narnians, Caspian….they expect me to fight. But how could I? I couldn't even punch someone in the face back in New York. How on Earth was I going to be able to kill someone?

An image of me, blood spattered on my face, slicing off a man's arm flashed behind my eyelids.

I cringed, dug my nails into my scalp and let out a strangled cry. "Get out of my head, please, just get out!" I begged, rubbing my eyes, praying to God, Aslan, and any other divine being that had the power to get rid of these thoughts.

My breathing was shallow; a lump wedged itself in my throat.

Tears were brimming in my eyes and i looked straight ahead, enjoying how blurry the tears made my vision. I didn't dare blink, knowing the second I did that tears would fall down my face, and I didn't want to cry.

Crying solved nothing.

And all I wanted now, more than anything, was for this problem to be solved.

With my vision still blurry and my thoughts still vulgar and terrifying, I rolled to my knees and clasped my hands together, looking to the sky. I hadn't done this in forever, and before I spoke I glanced around, making sure my conversation would be private. Then I looked back towards the heavens.

"God, please help me. I don't know what to do. I know I haven't been the most faithful servant, and although I know it angers you greatly, I probably never will be. But I'm begging, please help me. I can't fight in a war. I can't imagine killing a person, ever. Please, just….take me home," I whispered quietly holding back the sobs that wanted to escape my mouth.

"Christina?"

I gasped as my eyes darted to the left, looking for the face that matched that voice. He looked awful. His skin was pale, and his eyes were red and puffy, as if he had just been crying. Those deep, brown irises were troubled and sad. But they were also worried and curious.

"Are you ok?"

It was now that I realized that a single tear had slid down my cheek, leaving a wet streak behind. I sighed impatiently and wiped it away with the back of my hand, blinking the others away. I must've looked so pathetic to him.

"I'm fine." I forced a smile onto my face and looked at him again.

"Were you crying?" he wondered, sitting down beside me.

I quickly sat back and pulled my legs to my chest, resting my chin on my knees. "No, there was something in my eyes," I managed a short, obviously fake laugh and rubbed my eyes with my hands, trying to convince him.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Are you ok?"

He looked down. I knew he knew that I was changing the subject, putting the light on him instead of me, but I also knew he didn't mind. He needed someone to talk to. And, apparently, I was a good listener.

"I just….I thought I had done well enough to be a king. I thought I had finally proven myself and that she was finally going to…leave me alone." His voice was so pained, it made more tears appear in my eyes.

"You are a great king, Edmund. You shouldn't let her get in the way of that," I told him.

"How could I be a good king? Do you know what I did? I betrayed my family! I Betrayed Narnia! I betrayed Aslan," the last part he whispered almost silently.

"I'm a traitor."

"No you're not! You are a great and loyal and _just_ king. All of that is in the past, you have done so much more than just prove yourself worthy of the throne. Edmund, if only you could see the way everyone else sees you. How the Narnians see you, how Lucy Sees you, how I see you."

He looked at me, tears brimming in his eyes.

This time I looked back confidently.

"I see you as one of the greatest rulers I have known and ever will know. Lucy, and everyone else, they look up to you. They know that you are smart and brave and level headed and passionate and everything that a king should be! And I only wish that you would just realize how great of a person you are!"

My shoulders slumped forward as I panted; I hadn't even taken in a breath during that long speech.

We both remained quiet, stunned by my outburst.

"So, what's wrong with you?" he asked quietly, scooting closer and throwing an arm around my shoulders. I cringed, I didn't even want to start thinking about this. Not right now. Not ever, if I got my way.

"Nothing," I replied.

He just raised his eyebrows at me and waited expectantly. He was stubborn. But so was I. Besides, he's the first sword of Narnia and one of the military commanders. He's had to have seen and killed loads of men in war before. I would look like a silly little girl if I started crying to him about fighting people.

"What?" I wondered, feigning innocence.

"So you're not going to tell me why you're so scared? Or sad?"

"There's nothing to tell," I snapped, moving out from under his arm. "I'm not scared or sad. I'm fine." I stood up and moved to enter the Howe when he stood as well and stepped in front of me. "Why won't you tell me?"

He seemed genuinely concerned. But he didn't need to be.

He had his own problems.

"Edmund, please. You've got your own stuff to be worried about right now. There's really nothing to tell," I repeated, slightly irritated, "I'm fine."

_Just drop it, please. _As long as I focused on something other than the fact that I was expected to fight in a war, I wasn't going to picture….what I had been picturing before, and then I might get an hour of decent sleep before I had nightmares that woke me up and kept me awake.

Edmund opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes widened and he grabbed my hand.

"Come on," he pulled my hand and began dragging me towards the howe.

I furrowed my brow in confusion at his sudden change in behavior, but didn't say anything. Looking back to see what he had seen, my eyes widened as well. There was one line, at least 200 feet long, of men dressed in full metal armor and masks, carrying swords, shields, and other weapons.

Miraz's army had come.

When we were in the howe he dragged me to the cave he shared with peter, and grabbed his armor, putting it on as we ran through the tunnels. When he was fully clad in armor he grabbed my hand and led me the rest of the way to the stone table room.

I saw two heads, one blonde and one brown, sitting on the other side of the table, looking at the carving of aslan. It was peter and lucy. I stood back by the entrance as Edmund barged into the middle of their conversation.

"Pete, you'd better come quickly," he suggested, turning on his heel and jogging out.

I stayed pressed against the wall as the three sibling rushed out of the room, then I followed behind. Lucy strayed from the group for only a minute to get susan, and then they resumed their quick pace through a tunnel I had never seen before.

When we came out, Caspian, Glenstorm, the old man, and trumpkin were already gathered on the ledge, which I noticed, was the same ledge Caspian and the old man had been sitting on earlier.

My eyes grew bigger when I looked at the size of the army.

It had almost doubled in size since the last time I saw it, two minutes ago.

There were hundreds, probably thousands, of metal clad men. And there were two, very large, crude looking wooden catapults. That wasn't going to be too good. A long line of men on horses trotted up the middle of the army, and one at the very front stood out.

It was Miraz, I knew it.

Everyone exchanged weary glances.

I backed up, making sure my back was against the rock wall, as the rest of the group stared on from the edge. Heights were definitely not my thing. A small gasp elicited from my mouth when peter whirled around suddenly, a determined fire ablaze in his crystal blue eyes.

"We need a plan."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: My life would be a lot better if i owned Narnia, but I don't. Everything is the possession of the genius C.S. Lewis. Enjoy!**

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"Don't be scared, the kings and queens won't let any harm come to you," Mel whispered to me as she helped pull chain mail over my head. My fingers shook so violently that I couldn't tie the laces on the cuirass.

She did it for me.

I pulled on the wrist protectors and fastened them with a deep breath and gulp.

"Mel, I don't think I can do this. What if-""Don't focus on the what if's. All you need to worry about is swinging as hard as you can at anyone that tries to come near you," she told me quickly, trying to prevent the violent images from appearing in my head.

"I'm going to die."

She smacked my shoulder, glaring at me. "Don't start that. I swear to Aslan, Christina, if you die…." She trailed off, making her threat seem even more intimidating. "Besides, I'll be right there beside you."

I helped her pull on her specialized chain mail and arm guards. Then we both set out towards the Stone table cave, where I knew the final stages of planning and preparations were taking place.

"Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest, alone?"

I looked at Mel as the conversation within the room met our ears. What on earth was trumpkin talking about? I entered the room and leaned against the wall, attempting to make my entrance unknown. It seemed to have worked.

"It's our only chance," Peter argued, looking very apprehensive and worried.

"And she won't be alone."

Susan took a step towards lucy, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder. I wish I had come in sooner, I burned with curiosity, wondering what they were talking about and what the plan was. All I could guess, as of now, was that Susan and Lucy were going into the darkest parts of the forest for some reason.

"Haven't enough of us died already?" Trumpkin asked lucy, his eyes begging her to stay.

"Nikabrik was my friend too, but he lost hope. Queen Lucy hasn't. And neither have I."

A badger, standing right beside Edmund, spoke, looking remorsefully at the dwarf. I almost smiled at the small twinge of surprise I felt in the back of my mind at seeing him speak. I knew I would never get used to talking animals.

"For Aslan," Reepicheep vowed, unsheathing his sword and crossing it across his chest.

I had to admit, for a mouse, he looked very regal.

"For Aslan," a bear agreed. His voice was deep and slow, sounding exactly as a bear would. I smiled. I had always loved bears. And his thick fur and warm brown coat made him look like an especially large teddy bear.

"Then I'm going with you," trumpkin sighed.

"No, we need you here," Lucy said softly, her voice was soothing, as if to console him. Why would she need to console him? She's the one going into the darkest parts of the forest. She put her hand on trumpkin's shoulder and smiled gently.

"We need to hold them off until Lucy and Susan get back," peter stated.

"If I may?"

I looked at Caspian. He sat on the stairs across the room, his armor on. The old man, who I had found out to be his professor, sat on the steps next to him. As all eyes turned to him, he stood up. I looked away, still somewhat angry for how stupid he was and how badly he damaged Edmund.

"Miraz may be a tyrant, and a murderer, but as a king he is subjected to the traditions and expectations of his people." He walked forward and looked peter directly in the eyes.

"There is one in particular that may buy us some time."

"And what would that be?" Peter questioned.

"Hand to hand combat," Caspian replied immediately. There was a small sparkle in his eyes that I had never seen there before. They were almost mischievous, like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

And so, peter decided to fight, one on one with Miraz, which scared the crap out of me.

What if he wasn't good enough? Miraz was older than him. What if he was a better fighter than peter? What if he killed him? There I went with those what if's again. Mel was right, I was going to kill myself if I didn't quit worrying about the what if's.

A declaration was written and Edmund had been called on to deliver it directly to Miraz's camp.

This scared me more than Peter's fight did.

It was like they were feeding him directly to the enemy, which they basically were. But, of course, I kept my mouth shut and watched in horror as Glenstorm, Edmund, and some giant prepared to leave.

As he walked towards the door, I called his name.

"Edmund! ED!" I whisper/yelled, waiting for him to see me.

His two guards continued on as he stepped over to me and smiled. He looked excited, like a kid who had just been give a million dollars and set loose in a toy store. He was a military leader. He lived for battle.

"Be careful," I commanded, pulling him into a tight hug.

After only a few seconds I let go, blushed, looked down, and then looked back up. He smiled and pecked the back of my hand quickly before leaving the cave. I winced with every fading footstep I heard.

I didn't stay long after Edmund left.

Peter and Caspian, as well as most of the soldiers, made a battle plan. I couldn't stand it. Not even excusing myself, I slipped out of the cave and walked through the halls. I hoped I knew where I was going; I had only been there once.

After close to twenty minutes of walking aimlessly around the caves I finally found the tunnel.

My feet moved quickly as I made my way up the slope and exited onto the small ledge that Caspian and his professor had been sitting on earlier. I took in a deep breath and sat down with my back against the stone, my feet about a foot away from the ledge.

I allowed my eyes to explore the clearing in front of the Howe.

Telmarines were wandering around the edge of the forest, standing guard for their camp, which was just beyond the line of trees. My chest swelled with worry and anticipation as i thought of what Edmund was doing in that camp at this very moment.

Proposing a fight to the death between Peter and Miraz.

I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to think about something else.

How was I going to get home? I couldn't stay here forever. But Lucy and Mel had said that only Aslan had the power to send me home, and I had yet to have met him. He probably didn't even know who I was, much less how I got into Narnia, and much, much less how I would be getting home.

My eyes snapped open at that thought.

What if I never went home? What if I was stuck here for the rest of my life?

A movement near the center of the clearing snapped me out of my reverie. The telmarines wouldn't dare venture that close to us unless they were planning an attack, which I sincerely hoped wasn't the case. I stared at the blurry figures, realizing, with great relief, who it was.

Edmund.

I got to my feet as Edmund, Glenstorm, and the giant got closer to the Howe. "Edmund, what happened?" I called once they were in hearing range. "Come down and I'll tell you," he yelled back, what looked like a small smile on his face.

Turning around, I ran through the tunnel and out to the main cave, where he was just entering.

My arms wrapped themselves around his neck in a quick, slightly awkward hug. Then I pulled away, blushed, but smiled nonetheless. "What happened?" I repeated, looking at him. "I have to tell everyone, come on," his hand wrapped around my wrist and he dragged me to the stone table cave.

"Ed!"

Peter, Susan, and Lucy hopped up and hugged him quickly.

I found a seat against the wall on the side of the room and smiled fondly while the brothers and sisters conversed quietly amongst themselves. Other soldiers filed into the room and waited anxiously, wondering what the outcome of the proposal was.

Finally, Edmund stood in the center of the room and eyed everyone seriously.

"Miraz has agreed to the fight," he declared, staring his brother straight in the eyes.

They both seemed to be having a silent conversation for a moment. Then Edmund nodded and looked away. "Lucy, Susan, be prepared to leave first thing in the morning. We need to find Aslan as soon as possible," Peter instructed, looking at his sisters.

"Lucy, please be careful," I whispered, hugging her tightly.

She grinned at me and gave me another quick squeeze before she stuck her foot in the stirrup and swung up onto the horse's back. Next was Susan. She flashed me a weak smile and I gave her a quick, awkward hug before wishing her luck and stepping away from the horse.

"Your majesties."

I stood aside as Caspian entered and bowed his head to the queens on the horse.

"May i?" he wondered, stepping forward and motioning to the horse. I honestly had no idea what he was asking he could do, but both Lucy and Susan nodded. He stepped forward and began fiddling with things on the saddle.

"Destrier has always served me well," he stated, looking up at Lucy and Susan, then back down. "You are in good hands." Once again he looked up then back down, fixing something else on the saddle.

"Or hooves."

I couldn't help but smile at that. Even when she was preparing to ride into a dangerous forest in search of a lion that everyone else believes doesn't exist, she is still bubbly and friendly. Caspian cracked a small smile, which turned serious after only a second.

Then he glanced up at Susan and stared at her for a second.

An unknown emotion bubbled up in my stomach, but I had no name for it. _Yes you do…you like him. __**Do not.**__ Do too. __**Shut up, I don't have time for this right now. **_"Good luck," he muttered, still staring at Susan.

She glanced at him then looked away. "Thanks."

"Look," he looked down once again and fumbled around for a second before revealing a white horn in the shape of a lion. "Maybe it is time you had this back." He offered it to Susan. She glanced at it, then away as the horse began to get antsy.

"Why don't you hold onto it? You might need to call me again."

With that she spurred the side of the horse and it trotted off down the cave. I didn't watch them go, as Caspian did, I was too busy trying to maintain my composure at Susan's comment. _You might need to call me again._

Was that a lame attempt at flirting? Or just a friendly joke?

Did Susan like Caspian? Why not? He was smart, kind, courteous, chivalrous….not to mention extremely handsome. Of course she liked him. More of that unknown feeling popped up in my chest.

_You have no reason to be jealous! He is a prince and she is a queen. You're just some loser from 2010 that showed up here and has gotten in the way of everything. THERE IS NO CHANCE THAT HE WOULD LIKE YOU. GIVE UP. NOW._

I took a deep breath and took a step towards the exit to the cave, to go find Mel.

"Milady?"

I made a small face, whether it was of pleasure or dislike I'm not sure, at the name and turned to face Caspian. "Please, just Christina," I insisted, flashing him a small smile. "Christina," he whispered, as if testing in on his lips. Honestly, I loved the sound of it, my name rolling off his tongue in that perfect accent of his.

I took another step towards the entrance to the cave, preparing to leave.

"I'm worried."

It was so quiet that I thought I had imagined it a first. But when I turned to look at him, to see if he had actually spoken, he was staring at me waiting for a response. I sighed and looked at him sympathetically. Of course he was worried. Who wasn't?

"About…susan?" it was almost hard for me to say her name.

"About the fight."

A wave of relief washed through me, and I tried to focus on what he had said instead of focusing on the fact that his mind wasn't consumed with the gorgeous queen. Or maybe it was, and he was just lying to make conversation.

"I am too," I muttered, not meeting his piercing brown eyes.

We both just stood there silently. I couldn't look him in the eyes, so I settled for looking down, peeking at him behind a curtain of my hair every now and then. After a few moments I began to feel awkward, so I cleared my throat and looked up.

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but I have to go find my friend Melanchaetes."

I nodded my head at him, flashing him a tiny smile, then I left the cave at a brisk walk, hoping to get away before he had the chance to respond.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: I do not own Narnia. Ohhhhhhh, here we go! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Chris, where have you been? Did Queen Susan and Queen Lucy leave?"

Mel had been on her way to locate me when I ran into her in one of the smaller tunnels.

"Yes, they left a little while ago," I answered, trying to keep up with her quick pace to the large cave at the front of the howe. "Then where were you? I thought you said you would come meet me the second you saw them off," she stated, glancing sideways at me.

A dark blush spread over my cheeks that I tried, in vein, to cover up.

"I…um. I-I was busy."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't push the topic any further. When we arrived in the main cave I noticed Edmund helping Peter put on a suit of full armor. Chain mail, red tunic with a golden lion in a ferocious roar on the front over that. Metal shin and arm guards, metal helmet, shield, and of course, his sword.

I wanted to stay behind. I wanted to go back to my small little cave and curl up under the blanket.

I wanted to do anything but be dragged out of the howe and put into a battle formation.

My heart raced as I looked at the army on the edge of the forest. Hundreds….thousands of telmarine men in armor, waiting to obliterate the motley crew we called an army. I began to feel dizzy as Peter and Edmund exited the howe, alone.

The Narnians' cheer was ferocious as they emerged.

My palms began to get clammy as I watched them walk to the very edge of the fighting ring. And my heart rate picked up even more when I saw the man sitting on the other side of the ring, looking completely relaxed.

_Miraz._

Few words were exchanged before Peter and Miraz put their helmets on and took fighting stances. They circled each other like animals, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. My pulse was entirely too fast to be normal now.

And I sucked in a sharp breath as Peter lurched forward with a roar.

Then the fight began.

Their swords clashed and grunts were heard. My heart thudded in my ears and my entire body was shaking. Every single movement put me on edge, and every time Peter grunted, I jumped. As the fight progressed, each man got angrier and the attacks got more intense.

I slapped my hand over my mouth as Miraz knocked peter's helmet off.

_Dear God, please, help him. Please._

Miraz swung his sword at Peter's now-exposed throat and missed narrowly. A loud cry reached my ears as Peter's blade sliced the skin on Miraz's leg. He limped backward a few paces and paused. Peter snarled at him and they both simultaneously attacked. The next thing I knew, Peter was on the ground.

_Oh, God, Peter Get up. _"Get up," I pleaded, too quiet for anyone other than myself to hear.

The king's foot slammed down onto the shield peter was holding and his arm was bent backward unnaturally.

An agonized cry of pain ripped through the young man's mouth as his shoulder was dislocated. I squeezed my eyes shut, and squealed into my hand. _Oh God, Oh God. Peter, Oh God._ I held my breath and grinded my teeth as I waited for some kind of positive reaction from the narnians; I wouldn't open my eyes without knowing that Peter hadn't been killed.

The metallic screech of swords crashing together sounded in my ears and I opened my eyes, seeing peter still on the ground, and still (thankfully) very much alive. Miraz continued to attack, despite the fact that Peter was already in the inferior position.

And then hope struck painfully at my heart as I watched Miraz trip and fall to the ground.

Before either of them could move to get up the neigh of a horse filled the air around the tense fight. My head snapped to the side and I saw Caspian riding into the clearing, from the forest, with Susan, who had her arms secured around his waist tightly.

I didn't even have time to acknowledge the obvious flash of jealousy that shot through me, because, at that moment, both Peter and Miraz limped out of the fighting ring, back to their respective sides.

"Where is Queen Lucy?"

Oh God.

That hadn't occurred to me until Melanchaetes said it. Where was Lucy? Was she alive? Had she found Aslan? Soon, Susan was told to take her place with the archers, and I couldn't help but notice Peter wince as she hugged him.

All the Narnians were silent with dread and worry. Was Peter alright? Where was Lucy? What was going to happen? Edmund, I saw, noticed this and mumbled something to Peter, who turned, raised his sword, and smiled brightly at the army.

The ground shook with their cheers of relief, but I could see that he was faking it.

I could tell that something was wrong, and that the high king was in a tremendous amount of pain. After a few moments of the heroic, chivalrous king bit, Peter turned and sat down, and began saying something to Edmund that I wished I could hear.

A loud yelp pierced the air and I jumped and gasped.

Edmund had just popped Peter's shoulder back into place…..how painful.

And just like that, with almost no time to recover, the two kings stood for battle once more. This time without helmets. My breath hitched with every clash of the swords. The fight continued, much more aggressive this time, for a few minutes.

Then peter disarmed Miraz.

I didn't dare allow myself to smile, for miraz would not give up. Soon, peter had lost his shield, and now it was nothing but sword vs. shield. With every strike peter landed on Miraz's shield my heart both soared and sunk.

I didn't want to watch a man die today.

But if a man had to die, it had better not be peter.

My stomach dropped as Peter's sword fell from his hand. Miraz landed a rough blow with his shield to the now disarmed younger man. _Peter don't die. Please God, don't let peter die. _Miraz switched his shield to his other hand and swung as hard as he possibly could.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't bear to see Peter fall to the ground again.

I could hear grunts coming from both men, so Peter obviously wasn't dead…yet. Suddenly, cheers erupted all around me and I jumped. _What happened?_ Opening my eyes, I saw Miraz on his knees and Peter walking away.

Then my breath hitched and my heart stopped beating.

Miraz got up and grabbed a sword, preparing to attack peter with his back turned.

"PETER, LOOK OUT!" I shrieked as loud as I possibly could, wishing there was something, anything, I could do. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as I watched Peter turn around, take the sword from Miraz, and shove it into his armor, just beneath his shoulder.

The older king fell to his knees and Peter yanked the sword out and held it against his neck.

Miraz said something, I couldn't tell what, I just saw his lips move. Peter replied, looking livid, and then he turned, holding the sword out. It was an offering. To Caspian.

Of course, it made sense. Miraz was his uncle. If anyone knew how much he deserved to die, it was Caspian. Miraz was also Caspian's only family left. If anybody should decide whether the tyrant lived or died, it was Caspian.

He slowly stepped forward and took the sword, raising it to eye level and using his hand to make sure he would not miss.

_Do the right thing, Caspian. _

I watched, terrified of the look of pure hatred on his normally handsome face. I silently begged him not to kill this man. Although he most certainly did deserve to die, I knew I wouldn't be able to look Caspian in the eyes ever again. He would be just like his uncle, a murderer.

Caspian let out a loud, infuriated roar and thrust the sword into the ground.

I let the breath I had been holding out as I watched him sneer something in Miraz's face. Then he glared at the Telmarines for just a moment before turning and walking back to join Edmund and Peter in front of the Narnians.

All those around me erupted into cheers and I couldn't help but smile and clap a bit.

Then things went silent and I looked to the fighting area to see Miraz lying on the ground, dead, with a blood red arrow protruding from his back.

Susan's arrow.

No, she wouldn't possibly do something like that, especially since we had just won. There had to be some mistake. Susan was a good person. She would never, never in a million years, kill someone that didn't absolutely need to lose their life. But there he was, dead.

"Treachery! They shot him, they murdered our king!"

The telmarines prepared for battle, the few that accompanied the now dead king charging back to their half of the field. "Be Ready!" Peter shouted at our army.

_Oh God_. This was it.

"Peter!"

I turned my eyes back to the place where Peter and Miraz had just fought to see a telmarine soldier charge at Peter. Peter sliced his stomach and I cringed, closing my eyes before I could see what else had happened to him. "GO!" he commanded.

My breath began to come in gasps as the telmarines began to shout and roar. Then, a man who had accompanied miraz to the fighting arena, shouted an order and large boulders were being catapulted at our army.

The ground shook and dirt arose.

Huge boulders that could easily crush three fully grown men landed ten feet in front of where I was standing. I Screamed, covering my ears and closing my eyes. This couldn't happen, I couldn't do this.

Then there were loud battle cries and the sound of horse hooves.

"Christina!"

My eyes snapped open and Mel was there, eyes wide with terror. Just beyond her left hip there was a long line of cavalrymen charging at us. My heart began to pound in my ears and the sound of the other army got louder and louder, becoming a deafening thunder right in my ears.

"CHRISTINA!"

I looked back at Melanchaetes as Susan began shouting commands at the archers above us. Mel looked like she was about to pass out. Her face was pale and covered in a thin layer of sweat. Her eyes looked like a deer's would if it were about to be hit by a car.

"Mel, no matter what happens. You're one of the best friends I've ever had" I told her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. Tears welled in my eyes, and a lump formed in my throat as I watched the army advance on us. I would not cry. I would stand there and die for a good cause, for the freedom of the Narnians.

"Don't start talking like that Christina. Don't do it." She warned me.

"GET READY!"

My heart rate doubled again, I began to feel dizzy. I was about to go charging into a war to kill or be killed. _Oh god, please save me._ I begged silently. _Save Mel, and Edmund, and Peter, and Susan, and Lucy, and Caspian, and the rest of the Narnians. Please save __**us**_.

And then a hole appeared right in front of the cavalry.

Most of the horses fell in, confusing and paralyzing the men. "NOW!" Susan shrieked, and arrows went flying into the air, striking many of the men, killing them. The lump in my throat began to constrict and I couldn't breathe. My vision was blurry.

I was going to die.

"CHARGE!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: I do not own Narnia. Back to the action! **

* * *

Narnians rushed by me, weapons drawn, prepared to fight for their lives. But what about me? I stood frozen in my place, watching people I knew and had spoken with before get hurt or even killed by monsters.

_Why should I fight?_

_**These are your friends, Christina. They are dying.**_

_If I fight I'll die too._

_**But this is just a dream, isn't it? Even if you do die, you'll just wake up back home in your bed, late for school.**_

_I don't think this is a dream._

_**What about Mel? Or Edmund? Or Lucy? Or Peter?**_

_They're kings and queens, they've done this sort of thing before. And Mel will be alright, I'm sure._

_**What about Caspian?**_

_He'll be fine. He's done this before too._

_**This is your chance, Christina. Do something for the right reason.**_

_Why? I have no reason to fight._

_**Do you?**_

My legs carried me forward. My brain was still trying to come up with an answer to my own question. My vision was still blurry, but I recognized the outline of a soldier dressed in armor coming at me.

I swung my sword at him, and he fell.

I kept going.

_What do I have to fight for?_

"Christina!"

My vision cleared and my breathing became normal again. I looked to my left to see Emdund, on a horse, shooting telmarines with a cross bow. To my right was Reepicheep, who just so happened to be slitting a man's throat.

I cringed and looked in front of me, where Mel had called my name. She had just reared up and kicked a man in the head.

"Get on, quickly." She stated, stabbing a man who was about to attack us in the stomach.

I took hold of her hand and jumped as high as I could. Luckily, she lifted me onto her back and I settled myself right behind her human half. "Turn Around. I'll cover the front and you cover the back." She told me. I did as she said, leaning my back against hers.

And she was off.

Telmarines ran at us from all directions. I screamed as a man lifted his sword to swing at my leg. I swung my sword around sporadically and hit him. He crumpled to the ground, blood pouring out of his chest.

_Oh god._

Tears pricked my eyes again. The lump found its way back into my throat. "Mel, I just killed someone. Oh my god, I'm a murderer" I whispered, terrified of the blood covering the tip of my sword.

A man charged at Mel's rear with a spear. I bit my lip as I kicked at it. When I saw that he had dropped it I closed my eyes and slashed my sword in the general direction of the man.

When I reopened them there was more blood on the tip.

I looked behind me, at Mel, and saw the rest of the Telmarine army slowly marching forward. For the briefest second, everything froze, and I contemplated my position.

"I can't do this."

_Oh, but you can, dear one._

My head jerked to the left and there, standing before me, was a massive lion. His presence frightened me, but sent calming waves through my body. His eyes were angry, and kind, and wise, and scary all at once. His majestic golden mane blew freely in the breeze. I would know this animal anywhere.

"Aslan."

_Be strong, my child, you are so much more than you would think._

I blinked, and he was gone, and the fighting had commenced and all I saw was death, everywhere. Telmarines died. Narnians died. Everyone was dying. I blinked again, wishing Aslan would come back, would save us. But he didn't.

"BACK TO THE HOWE!"

Mel turned and stood onto her back legs.

"No!" I screeched, clawing for anything I could grab onto, but I couldn't find anything, and I fell to the ground. The wind instantly rushed out of me and I stared at the gray sky for a second.

Then a sword planted itself in the ground beside me, I looked up to see a soldier, grinning wickedly at me as he yanked the metal out of the ground and prepared to strike again. I rolled out of the way as quickly as I could. When I was sure I was far enough away I scrambled to my feet and grabbed the sword from a dead Telmarine lying at my feet.

I tried not to notice the blood smeared on the handle.

The man rushed at me again and struck my shield. I reached around when he was distracted and slashed the length of his back. He fell to his knees, looked up at me and grinned yet again, then fell to the ground, exposing the gash I created, which was gushing blood.

Bile rose into my throat and I swallowed hard, closing my eyes, biting my lip and looking away as the tears rose to my eyes. I had probably just killed someone's father or bother or son or husband.

_Do not think of him as a human being. He killed your friends, he took the narnians' freedom. _

"YOU'RE NOT A PERSON!" I screamed at his back, as if that would make it better.

The sound of rock crashing dragged my attention away from the man I had just killed. The Howe had collapsed, and now the Telmarines had us surrounded. Now it was for sure that today would be my last day.

A telmarine soldier rushed at me, but I never got the chance to even lift my sword.

Edmund slid his blade across his stomach and kicked him to the ground, stepping in front of me and taking the dead man's sword, slashing two other soldiers at the same time. I cringed as blood leaked from their wounds as they slowly died.

I reached down to a dead faun beside me and closed his still open eyes. Squeezing my eyes shut to stop the tears, I took the sword that was clutched in his hands. Now that I had two swords I could kill like Edmund, twice as fast and twice as efficient.

Another man charged at me and I thrust my sword into his stomach, yanking it back out as two other attacked me. One of their swords nicked my stomach, but I ignored the pain that shot through me as I stabbed both of them.

A familiar voice yelled out and I whirled around just in time to see Caspian fall into the trench he had created. My heart clenched painfully as I sprinted to where he was and looked down in time to see the same man that ordered the cavalry to attack holding a long metal spear at him, prepared to kill.

I opened my mouth to yell his name, to do something to help him, when the ground beneath me began to tremble, causing me to lose my balance and fall flat on my butt. I felt the ground continue to rumble, and thunderous noises progressively got louder.

A screech erupted from my mouth as I looked above me to see gigantic trees walking around.

A tanned hand appeared before me and I was so startled that I had actually grabbed my sword and prepared to swing at it, before I realized whose arm was connected to that hand. Grabbing his hand, I allowed Caspian to pull me to my feet.

"Lucy," peter mumbled, a dazzling smile breaking out across his face.

I watched as the trees crushed telmarines and threw them against the ground. Flinching, I looked at my feet. So this was Lucy's doing. No….it was Aslan's doing.

_Thank you, Aslan._

A tiny, painful pang of hope struck at my heart as I watched a tree root destroy one of the catapults. The hope intensified as the telmarines began to flee. We were winning.

"FOR ASLAN!"

The name itself gave me hope and I watched as most of the narnians chased the telmarines through the woods to the river. I walked behind them slowly, making sure there were no straggling telmarines.

I jumped when I heard a deafening roar that most definitely came from a lion. The noise itself compelled me to drop to my knees in a bow, although the great lion was nowhere in sight, I knew that was Aslan, and I knew everything was going to be alright.

Hopping up from my bow, I quickly ran through the forest and soon found myself at the back of the narnian army. They all stood on the bank of the river watching what looked to be the aftermath of a massive wave.

On the other side of the river was Lucy, smiling triumphantly. Beside her was the great lion, the king of all kings, Aslan. I was about to drop down into a bow yet again, but a tremendous force appeared at my side.

I turned to find Mel hugging me.

A smile broke out across my face as I looked at her, making sure she was unscathed. "I am so glad you're alright" she muttered, hugging me again. Suddenly, a fierce pain traveled through my body.

I sucked in a deep breath of air as Mel pulled away and looked at her hands. They were both covered in blood.

My eyes widened and I gasped. I looked down and saw blood seeping through the shirt I was wearing. I lifted the hem of my shirt just a tad to do a survey of the damage.

I spotted the gash that I had thought was just a simple cut and immediately looked away. It was much, much, MUCH worse than I recall it being. "Ow….that's not too good." I muttered, trying not to think of all the blood that was spilling out of my stomach.

"Christina?"

I looked up to see Caspian, Edmund, Peter, and Susan standing in front of me, staring at the cut that I was still exposing. I quickly dropped my shirt. "You're hurt." Susan stated, looking both angry and worried.

"Yes, hence the blood." I snapped.

"What happened?" Peter wondered, looking around for something that could help.

I didn't want to say the words 'I was Stabbed' that would sound way too melodramatic.

"I guess I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought I was," I joked, trying to lighten the serious mood among my friends. My head was beginning to spin. I closed my eyes, the dizziness from losing blood slowly kicking in.

"Christina, you're bleeding a lot," Mel told me, showing me her hands, drenched in my blood.

I cringed, looking away. "Yeah, we might need to do something about that. Because I'm a firm believer in bodily fluids staying inside the body," I announced, trying not to let my panic seep into my voice.

"We can't have it treated very properly now. We'll wrap it up so it doesn't get infected then I'll see to it that you see a medic the second we get to Telmar," Caspian told me, an unfathomable look on his face.

The guys arranged the Narnians in certain patterns along both river banks to monitor the telmarine soldiers emerging from the water, and make sure that they were surrendering their weapons.

While that was going on, Mel and Susan helped bandage my injury. Then Peter came back and said that we had to go talk to Aslan.

"We? Don't you mean you?" I asked.

"Don't you want to know why you're here?" he countered, a sly smile lighting his features.

I nodded my head fervently and followed him to the edge of the water, where he, Edmund, and Susan waded in. Caspian was about to follow when he noticed my hesitance to walk into the water.

"What's wrong?"

"I just got my cut bandaged; I don't want to ruin it and make someone do it again."

He nodded in understanding. "Melanchaetes? Would you perhaps mind wading through the river with Christina on your back?" he asked in a very kind voice. She smiled and nodded her head, walking over to me and offering me her hand.

Her doing the same exact thing to me not an hour before flashed in my head. Death was all around us, people dying. And blood. There was so much blood around us.

I cringed, but took her hand anyways. Caspian walked over to me and put his hands on my waist. My breathing hitched as I looked over my shoulder at him. He seemed so nonchalant. How could he not notice what he did to me?

Carefully and easily, he lifted me up and placed me gently on her back. Then he flashed us a quick smile and waded into the water, following the three Pevensies who were about halfway across the river.

Mel followed after him, a smile on her face. "What?" I asked, referring to her smile. "Oh nothing…..nothing at all," Her voice contradicted her words. "No, tell me," I whined. "You'll find out eventually, trust me." By this time we had reached the middle of the river and the water reached my mid thigh.

I tightened my grip around Mel's middle and tried to ignore how cold the water was.

"Christina, I was going to talk with you later, but now is as good a time as any. I just want to say that I will never forgive myself for bucking you off earlier today, and I want you to know that I am so, very deeply sorry."

Her tone of voice sent chills through my bones.

"Mel, it's not your fault. You were simply trying to protect both of us and I wasn't paying attention. Nothing bad happened, we're both still alive. So you don't need to be sorry or feel bad or anything like that. It's ok."

"But-"

"Nope, no but's. It's all good, so don't worry about it," I told her as we arrived on the bank of the other side of the river, in front of Aslan.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: I still don't own anything about Narnia, no matter how much I wish I did. I'm going to apologize ahead of time and just say I'm sorry for ending the chapters in such weird places. It's hard to keep things interesting during filler chapters, but I also want to maintain a decent length, instead of having a close to 6,000 or 7,000 word chapter. So if it seems the chapter is cut off at a weird place I'm sorry about that, it will be fixed soon. Anyways, onto the chapter!**

* * *

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia."

I took a deep breath and stayed down as I watched Susan, Edmund, and Peter get to their feet.

"All of you," his deep, wonderful voice stated.

I looked up just a tad to peek at Caspian. He had remained kneeling and was now looking at Alsan with both fear and reluctance and confusion and so many more emotions. "I do not think I am ready," he confessed, looking down again.

"It is for that very reason that I know you are."

Slowly, Caspian stood, acceptance slowly dawning on his face. He was going to be a king. Aslan turned his eyes on me, and I quickly looked down again, so as not to disrespect him.

"My dear Christina," the deep rumble said.

I glanced up to see everyone looking at me.

"You have a question for me." It was a statement, not a question.

I nodded, waiting for his approval to ask. He looked at me for a moment, which I took as the go ahead signal.

"Why am I here?"

"That you must answer in your own time," he told me.

I sighed, somehow knowing that something cryptic would be the answer.

"You have more questions for me?" this was a question.

Again, I nodded. "We will discuss things at another time," he stated as what sounded like a funeral song met my ears. I opened my eyes and stood up, watching as a small group of mice carried Reepicheep on what looked to be a mini stretcher forward and laid him at Aslan's feet.

Worry overcame me as I looked at my small mouse friend. He appeared to be dead.

_Please don't be dead._

Lucy knelt down beside the mouse and let a small drop from her little vial fall into his mouth. A few seconds later the mouse coughed and gasped, but his eyes opened nonetheless. A small smile stretched onto my lips.

He sat up slowly, still very disoriented. "Oh, thank you….your majesty," he gasped.

Another mouse helped him stand up. I could have almost laughed when I saw the look on Reepicheep's face when he first saw Aslan. "Oh hail Aslan!" he gasped, "It is a great honor to be-" he went to bow forward, but he fell, looking as though he were drunk.

Then I noticed it, at the same time he did. Poor Reepicheep was missing his tail!

He quickly covered up the tiny little stub that was left and backed away from Aslan, looking extremely embarrassed. "I am completely out of countenance. I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion."

He leaned toward lucy, looking up at her hopefully. "Perhaps a drop more?"

She looked sad as she answered "I don't think it does that." He didn't seem too phased by that. "You can have a go." They way he said that made him sound almost drunk, it made me want to giggle. Of course I didn't though.

Apparently, Aslan was having the same thoughts as I was, because he chuckled just a bit.

"It becomes you well, small one."

"All the same, Great King. I regret that I must withdraw" at this he unsheathed his sword and offered it up to Aslan. "For a tail is the honor and glory of a mouse."

"Perhaps you think too much of your honor, friend."

I smiled. He was completely right. Everyone knew this. Reepicheep stumbled, searching for something to say next. "well- i-it's not just the honor. It's also great for balance! And climbing, and grabbing things."

"may it please your high majesty," another mouse spoke, "We will not bear the shame of wearing an honor denied to our chief." He unsheathed his sword and held it against his tail, prepared to cut it off. The other mice did the same.

"Not for the sake of your dignity, but for the love of your people."

My eyes widened and I had to blink several times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. But it was there! Reepicheep had grown a new tail. "OH! Look! Thank you. Thank you, my liege. I will treasure it always! From this day forward it will serve as a great reminder of my huge militant!"

At this I could not help but giggle quietly.

"Now, where is this dear little friend you've told me so much about?"

I followed Lucy's line of vision to where trumpkin was standing by the water, monitoring Telmarines. When he heard the words Dear Little Friend he looked up at the great lion frightfully. Then he slowly walked forward and kneeled in front of Aslan.

Aslan let out a loud and intimidating roar that made both me and Trumpkin jump.

"Do you see him now?" lucy asked with a large smile on her face.

Trumpkin blushed and rolled his eyes, nodding his head.

"Come, children, we must leave soon. We have a coronation to plan."

"You look beautiful!" Susan and Lucy both cheered.

I looked down at the dress they had given me. Sure, it was very pretty, and it fit very nicely, but it just felt so wrong. I didn't wear dresses….ever. Especially not such beautiful, fancy dresses such as the one Susan had just forced me to put on.

"Why can't I just borrow another shirt and some pants from Edmund?" I questioned as they began to brush my hair. Today was the day we would arrive back in Telmar, and the girls knew there would be a parade waiting for us when we returned, so they thought I would need to look my best.

"Because, you got blood on the other clothes he gave you. Besides, even Edmund's dressing up for this. You have to do so as well," Lucy answered, braiding two pieces of my hair and pinning them back behind my head.

"Guys I really don't like this. I would much rather have pants on." I whined.

"Your majesties, it's time to go," Mel popped her head into the tent, smiling, then left.

Lucy clapped her hands together and took my hand. "You go ahead Susan, we'll be there in a moment," she told her older sister, who left the tent.

Then Lucy turned to me, smiling mischievously and leaning in to whisper something in my ear, like she was about to tell me some huge scandal that only she knew about. Knowing Lucy, that may very well be the case.

"Caspian will love you in this dress," she whispered to me, smiling.

"What?"

She laughed and put her hands on her hips, looking at me as if I were being so silly. "Christina, I'm not that stupid. I see the way you look at him. And I also see the way he looks at you," she told me, matter of factly.

"Lucy, Caspian likes Susan, not me."

"I wouldn't be so sure!" she called, skipping out the door.

Sighing, I exited the tent, trying to look as graceful as I could in such a long skirt. I was so focused on my feet that after only a few seconds of walking I bumped into someone. Looking up, a blush heated up my cheeks as I met the deep brown eyes of Caspian.

My blush got darker as I realized how close we were, and that if his hands hadn't grabbed me I probably would have fallen.

After a moment of staring I blushed yet again and stepped away, smoothing out my dress.

"So, Queen Susan is making you dress up?" he asked, smiling just a bit.

A small smile found its way to my lips as well as I glanced up at him then back down to my feet.

I fiddled with part of my sleeve. "Um, yeah." I didn't want to look up and see what he thought of my dress. He was probably holding in his laughter as we spoke. "Well, you look very nice," he complimented.

My head snapped up.

He smiled at me once more before walking off to where Peter and Edmund stood. He spoke with them for a few seconds, and then Edmund parted from the group and walked toward me with a smile on his face.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in my ear, hugging me gingerly.

"You clean up pretty well yourself," I teased, motioning to his clothes. "So you ready to meet the Telmarines?" I shook my head and bit my lip, something I had been doing quite often recently. "If they're anything like the ones we saw two days ago, then no thank you. I'd much rather stay here."

He chuckled. "They won't be, I promise."

Soon, Peter called for everyone to get into a procession behind him and the other Royals. Edmund helped me onto Mel's back, and both of them told me I had to ride side saddle, which was twenty times harder than normal horse riding (which I still hadn't mastered) and twenty zillion times harder with no saddle.

We walked for what seemed like hours before arriving at a beautiful castle that towered over the trees.

The gates opened and I could hear cheering. My heart pounded. There were going to be so many people looking at me! I didn't want people to look at me!

We got nearer and nearer to the crowd until we were actually walking through the people to get to the inside of the castle. Everyone else in the party was smiling and waving, even Mel. So I just flashed a fake smile and lifted up my hand in a stiff greeting every now and then.

Finally we arrived in the castle, and Mel, as well as many of the other narnians were led off by some servants and tended too. But no, I wasn't allowed to go to a room, wash up and have some much needed sleep. Oh no, I'm not that lucky.

Instead, as soon as we entered the grand hall of the castle, Caspian grabbed hold of my arm and led me through many corridors until we stopped at some room. Caspian knocked once before the door was opened to reveal a middle aged tan woman.

"Prince Caspian, how good it is that you've come back!" she cried, hugging him.

He chuckled and hugged her back for a moment before pulling away and looking at me.

"This girl was injured during battle, and we need to make sure that she is going to heal properly," he told her. She nodded, taking my hand and leading me inside this room, which now looked to be like the infirmary.

"Where is your injury, my dear?"

I pointed to my stomach, glancing at Caspian out of the corner of my eye.

"Well, I'll need to see it…" she trailed off and both of us looked at the one male in the room.

"Oh, right!" he jumped up, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, I guess I will wait outside." He looked at me for a few more seconds, and then quickly exited the room. I watched him leave, wishing that he wouldn't leave me alone with this stranger, but also not wanting to lift my dress up or even take it off in front of him.

"Alright, dear, let's have a look at that injury."

She had me lie down on a small cot and lift up my dress. Then she unwrapped the bandages to see how bad it was. "Oh my," she muttered, staring at it for a few seconds. I was too afraid to look at it. What if it had gotten worse since the last time I saw it?

"That is a large wound, Miss…" she trailed off, looking at me.

"Christina."

"Well, Miss Christina, I am amazed that you are in no pain at the moment. That cut is very deep and very wide." Then she turned and began shuffling around in the room for a minute, and when she turned around she had a huge needle and what looked to be some string.

"It's going to need stitches."

My eyes widened and I sat up quickly, flinching at the pain that appeared in my gut at the sudden movement. My breath became short and my heart rate picked up. No, I was definitely not going to get stitches. Never.

"No," I shook my head and stood up, pulling my dress back down.

"Miss Christina, you need them," she argued, taking a step toward me. I shook my head again, feeling tears prick at my eyes once more and I quickly moved to the door, flinging it open and running into a flustered Caspian.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: I do not own Narnia, sadly. If you like it, let me know! I love feedback! **

* * *

"What's wrong?"

"Let me go, I have to go!" I cried, feeling the tears beginning to fall.

"Your majesty, please hold her still. She needs stitches and she refuses to have them," I heard the woman say. I twisted and flailed in Caspian's grip, throwing my arms around his neck and dragging myself closer to him, burying my face in his warm chest.

"Please Caspian, please! No, stitches. Please I'll do anything, I'm begging you, no stitches."

My voice was muffled, but I knew he could hear me. He remained frozen in his place for a moment, surprised by my sudden contact, but he hesitantly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, almost like he was protecting me.

"Can you not see how frightened this girl is? Please, there has to be some other treatment."

I tightened my arms around his neck, a silent thank you for defending me. From behind me, the woman sighed. "There is another way, much less efficient, and it will take much longer to heal, but it does not require any needles."

Now that the major problem was solved, I had time to notice just how awkward of a position Caspian and I were in at the moment.

My arms were fastened tightly around his neck, and his secured around my waist. Our bodies were pressed against one another, his chest against my face and my chest against his abdomen. My cheek was nuzzled against his chest, where I could feel the warmth of his skin beneath the thin shirt he was wearing.

I could feel his cool breath on the top of my head, and I could hear his heartbeat, which was going much slower than mine was. I wanted to let go, to step away and apologize for invading his personal space.

But I couldn't.

I could not possibly fathom the idea of letting him go when his embrace was so warm and comforting and….perfect. But then I recalled the image of him, riding his horse onto the battlefield, with perfect Susan right behind him, her arms tight around his waist.

My heart stung. Of course, he and Susan were in love.

Reluctantly, I released Caspian from my hold and took a step back, looking down at my feet with a bright red blush on my cheeks. The nurse asked me to lie down again while she bustled around the room.

"You may go now, your majesty." The woman dismissed him.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away, scared to watch Caspian walk away, not even caring if I was treated alright or anything. But I never heard the door close.

"If neither of you mind, I would prefer to stay here and make sure Lady Christina's injury is well attended to, not that I doubt your skills Madame," he flashed a charming smile at the nurse while she busied herself with finding stuff to heal my cut with.

Caspian pulled up a wooden stool beside me and sat down.

I wanted to turn over and hold his hand and hug him again, but I didn't.

I simply turned my head slightly to look up at the ceiling but to really look at him in my peripheral vision. He looked unhappy. I was going to apologize for hugging him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Instead I settled for "what's wrong? You look mad."

"I am, as you say, mad." He answered quietly, staring at me.

I turned over, careful not to cause anymore pain to my stomach and propped myself up on my elbow, looking at him. "Why're you mad?" He looked me in the eyes, his brown ones filled with unnamed emotions. I looked away quickly.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"What?"

I looked back up at him, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. Of all the Things he could have possibly said to explain his anger he said _that?_ I stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"You are a good person. I know I haven't known you for very long, but you are, you are a wonderful person. And knowing that I was one of the people that put you into harm's way and knowing that you got hurt, I can't stand myself."

_WHAT?_

_He must be delusional or something. All the stress from running an army must have finally gotten to him. He just needs to sleep, that's all. Sleep will make him sane again._

"Caspian, this isn't your fault. I agreed to fight and I was the one that got myself hurt. Besides, I'm not even hurt that bad. A couple of weeks from now and I'll be as good as new. So don't feel bad and don't, especially don't blame yourself. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but the nurse lady came back just then.

She was holding what looked to be lotion of some sort, bandages, and a small glass bottle. She set them down next to my feet and smiled at me. "You may want to lie on your back; it would be easier to reach your wound that way."

I did as she said, and smiled at Caspian, who was looking up in the air, so as not to invade my privacy by looking at my exposed skin when my dress was pulled up.

The woman opened the glass bottle and poured a bit of it on a bandage and looked at me for a second before pressing it against my skin. I yelped and reached out, grabbing Caspian's hand. Fire shot through my veins and I squirmed, digging my nails into Caspian's palm.

He didn't seem to mind. He was more surprised when my hand had darted out and grabbed his. Now he was staring at my wound. It must've been bad, because he squeezed my hand back tightly.

"Alright, now that we have that cleaned, I'm going to put the healing lotion on the bandages and wrap you up," the nurse stated, spreading the lotion-y stuff on the bandages before pressing them against my gut.

Once she had a thin layer of lotion-y bandages covering me she told me to sit up and hold my dress up. I did so, not looking at Caspian and him not looking at me, and watched her as she grabbed some more bandages and patted Caspian on the shoulder.

"You're going to have to help me wrap this around her."

I blushed.

Caspian nodded and stood up, letting go of my hand. The nurse pressed one end of the roll of wrapping on my abdomen; a small burst of pain appeared at the pressure. Then gave the roll to Caspian, telling him to wrap it all around my body tightly, but not tight enough to cut off my blood flow.

He did this very lightly, his fingers brushing my exposed abdomen every once and a while.

My blush got darker and I looked away, embarrassed at the thought of how lovely his touch was and how warm his hands were. After about three cycles around my stomach the nurse decided that I was wrapped well enough and pinned the bandages together.

"Come back tomorrow and I'll clean the wound again and replace the wrappings," she told me.

I nodded and stood up, making sure my dress covered me again. Then Caspian and I both left the room, walking side by side, not saying a word. I followed him through hallways and stairwells. This place seemed to go on forever.

"Caspian, where are we going?"

He smiled at me and took my hand, sending shocks through my arm.

"I'm showing you to your sleeping quarters so you can wash up and have a nap, if you wish, before the feast."

"What feast?"

"The celebratory feast," he answered simply, like everyone knew what was going on.

I nodded, unsure of what to say. His smile grew wide when we reached a winding staircase. He looked back at me, a twinkle in his eyes, and pulled me along, looking very excited. I had to almost jog to keep up with his quick steps, and I ran into his back when he stopped outside a door in a small corridor.

"This is your chamber while you are here," he informed me, motioning at the door.

"This is Lucy's," he pointed at the door across the hall from mine, "This is Edmund's" he pointed at the door right next door to mine, "This is Susan's" he pointed at the door next to Lucy's, "This is Peter's" he pointed at the door next to Edmund's, "And this is mine," he walked down the length of the hall and tapped the door across from Peter's.

"Why am I here?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and walked back to where I was standing. "What do you mean?" He wondered, obviously confused. "Why is my room in this hall with all of you? You're royals and I'm not."

"That does not matter. You are a great friend to all of us." He smiled and opened the door to where I was supposed to be sleeping, successfully halting any arguments I might have had.

"Oh my God."

The room was huge, with high vaulted ceilings. A large, comfy looking bed with curtains and dark, mahogany wood sat against one wall. A wardrobe that was bigger than me was against another wall. It was made of the same dark wood and had intricate details and carvings on the front. There was a fireplace with a cozy looking chair and a small table in front of it. A door was next to the wardrobe and lead off to what I presumed was the bathroom.

But the most spectacular thing about the room was that it opened up onto a balcony.

Walking onto the balcony, I gasped. The view was perfect. I could see the rest of the castle and the courtyard in the center of the massive palace. I could also see the village outside the castle, and the rolling trees and hills beyond that. It was amazing.

"I hope this is suitable for you?"

I whirled around and smiled at Caspian.

"Suitable? Caspian, this is gorgeous, it's perfect….it is so much more than I deserve."

He flashed me a breathtaking smile and motioned back into the room. So I followed him as he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, revealing two long colorful rows of gorgeous gowns and dresses.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and took a step forward and reached out to the dresses, but didn't touch any of them, afraid that they would disappear.

"Queen Susan and Queen Lucy," was all he said. It was enough of an explanation.

"Thank you, for everything." I murmured, turning to look at him.

"You're most welcome. This is the washroom, if you would like to freshen up, feel free to sleep. I will send a servant up for you when it is time for the meal," he stated backing up, towards the door.

"Oh, ok. Alright, thank you," I called. He bowed his head a bit, as if saying 'you're welcome' then left.

I waited until I heard Caspian's footsteps fade down the hall, and then I grabbed handfuls of my skirt and ran to the balcony. I sat down right beside the banister, slipping my feet through and letting them dangle off the edge.

I leaned back on my elbows and basked in the sunlight, letting it warm me all the way to the core. I didn't think about anything. There were too many problems to think about, and all of them would ruin the moment.

What seemed like only minutes later there was a tentative knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened to reveal a girl a couple years older than me, still in her early twenties though. She had dark brown hair and eyes with tan skin. She was definitely a lot thinner than I was, and a lot prettier, but she looked very friendly.

She swept into a very graceful curtsy with a happy smile on her lips.

"My name is Arianna, but you may call me Ari. I will be your servant while you stay here."

I smiled and gave an awkward half bow half curtsy. "Hi, Ari. I'm Christina, you can call me Chris. And I don't really like the term servant, so how about you're my helpful friend while I stay here?"

She smiled and nodded her head.

"Well, Lady Chris, Prince Caspian sent me to tell you that the feast is due to begin soon, so it would be best if you prepared." I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down at myself before looking back up at her.

"Am I not prepared now?"

"You've been wearing that dress all day, madam. It would be much easier if you changed dresses for the feast. The entire Telmarine court will be there, you know." Another smile appeared on her face as she went to my wardrobe and opened it, beginning to sort through the dresses.

"Here you go." She handed me a dress and showed me to a changing screen in the corner of the room. I got her to help untie the corset at the back of the dress I was currently wearing. Then I moved behind the screen and pulled the dress off, leaving it on the floor as I stepped into the other gown.

I held the front up as I stepped out and turned my back to Ari to have her tie the straps.

She yanked each and every one, jolting me forward and knocking the wind out of me every time she did so. "Ari," I gasped, "I think I'll need just a bit of room to breathe." She chuckled and continued her yanking. When she finished I ran a brush through my hair really quick. Then I gathered two fistfuls of my skirt and followed Ari out into the hallway, through different corridors and staircases, until we had come to the grand staircase in the grand hall.

There were people milling about at the bottom of the staircase. A few of them looked up at me, among those that did were the Pevensies. I smiled at my friends and began to descend the stairs slowly, looking down to make sure I wouldn't fall.

"Christina, you look so pretty!" Lucy squealed, hugging me.

I hugged her back, smiling widely. I also flashed Susan a smile. "Thank you guys, for all the dresses. You really didn't need to do that," I said to them while Edmund hugged me. They both flashed me radiant smiles.

"Oh, But we did! If we hadn't stocked your wardrobe you'd be wearing trousers right now, and we just couldn't have that," Lucy teased, giggling quietly. "Oh, whatever," I sighed, laughing anyways.

"Your majesties?"

I turned to face Caspian, a blush creeping onto my cheeks.

He surveyed all of the Pevenies, his eyes stopping on Susan, _Of Course_, and then he glanced over and looked me up and down. My blush darkened and I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"The feast is ready, if it would please you to be seated now."

Lucy grinned, grabbing hold of my hand. "Sit next to me, Christina," she cheered, pulling me into what appeared to be the dining hall. There was a long table with many chairs and place settings along the length of the hall, with one large, elaborate chair at the end of the table. Lucy walked all the way down to the end of the table and sat on the left side of the big chair.

I sat next to her and Edmund sat next to me.

I slowly became more and more nervous as more and more people filed into the hall and took seats around the table. Susan was across from me and Peter next to her. Strangers took seats all around me and gave the Pevensies and myself strange looks. I blushed and looked down.

Then Caspian took his seat at the head of the table and the meal began.

I had no idea what food they were serving me, so I mostly just poked at my food and stayed quiet, listening to the conversations around me. A servant poured wine in my glass, even though I didn't want any. But I was so thirsty, so I sipped at it occasionally, making sure I didn't drink too much.

Finally, the meal was over, and Lucy excused both herself and me, and lead me through the castle.

"How do you know your way around already? I'm pretty sure if I tried to navigate my way to my room I'd get lost," I questioned her. "My hand maiden Ophelia gave me a tour," she informed me with a smile.

"Well, I'm glad you know your way around, now you can help me." I squeezed her hand.

She laughed her beautiful laugh that sounded like chiming bells and gave me a side hug, leading me through more hallways and staircases until we reached the hallway where our rooms were. I opened my door and motioned for her to go in first.

opened my door and motioned for her to go in first.

She did, and she plopped herself in front of the fireplace, which now held a roaring fire, which I assumed was started by Arianna. "so did you know there's going to be a ball?"

I flopped into the chair in front of the fire place and looked at the young girl sprawled out on the rug.

"What?"

She sat up and nodded her head furiously with a huge smile on her face. "Yes, in two days. It's a coronation ball for Caspian and a welcome back ball for us," she told me, a twinkle in her eye. Something told me that she liked wearing fancy dresses and dancing. That made one of us.

"I don't think I'll go."

"What? Why not? You have to go!"

"Lucy, I can't dance."

She gave me a skeptical look. "Everyone can dance, Christina," she stated. I shook my head. "No, I can't dance. Especially not slow dancing, like you people do. The best slow dance I can do is sway back and forth a bit."

"Well then, we'll just have to teach you how to dance."

"But I don't want to learn how to dance. I just want to stay in my room and sleep or read a book or something like that!" I wailed. "But you have to come! Everyone's going to be there. And you'll wear a beautiful dress and Caspian'll fall madly in love with you!"

"Lucy, SH! What if he had heard you?"

"Then he would finally have gotten a clue," she replied, a smug smile on her face.

I sighed and stood up, walking out to the balcony. "Do I really have any chance to argue with you?" I asked quietly, noticing that Lucy had followed me outside. "No, you don't," her smile widened.

"Fine, I'll take dancing lessons and I'll go to the ball. But I don't want you to try to use the dancing lessons as a way to get Caspian and I alone together or something, ok?"

As I said this, her face fell and she glared at me.

"Fine," she huffed. Suddenly her face brightened and a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes. "But, Susan and I get to pick your dress! And you're not allowed to argue!" she looked very self-satisfied now.

"No, that's not fair!"

"is too. I'll get Edmund to give you dance lessons if you let us pick your dress. Otherwise, I'm sure Caspian will be more than happy to give you dance lessons."

"How can someone so sweet looking be so evil?"

"So it's settled then?"

"Yeah, but would you do something else for me?

She gave me a skeptical look, but nodded her head. I bit my lip, unsure of how to tell her that I didn't really know how to ride a horse when that was one of the main sources of transportation in Narnia.

"Would you teach me how to ride a horse?"

"What? You mean you don't know how to ride a horse?"

I shook my head slowly, looking down, embarrassed. "Yes, I'll give you horseback riding lessons tomorrow right after breakfast. Then you'll have dance lessons with Edmund right after lunch! I'll have it all worked out," she agreed, smiling.

I smiled and bid her goodnight, waving as she left the room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Hi again everyone! I know, for now, I have been posting chapters pretty consistently everyday, but I should warn you, with the Holidays coming up soon, school is getting stressful and finals are going to kick my ass. So if I'm ever too late or too slow uploading chapters, send me a message and I will do my best to post faster. **

**Enough of that, onto the story! **

* * *

After closing the door I tugged the dress over my head and searched through the wardrobe for a suitable nightgown. I hated wearing nightgowns to sleep, it was so much fabric, I felt like I was suffocating. After having only found ankle length dresses, I opted for a plain white tunic that was in a drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe, along with a pair of pants or two.

I was just about to go to bed when there was a knock on the door.

I stared at it for a second, wondering who it was, and then I sighed, crawled out of the warm bed, and opened the door. There stood Caspian, leaning against the wall outside the door, examining his feet. When he heard the door open he looked up and I blushed, looking down.

"Um, hey, Caspian."

"I-I was….i was just coming to make sure you were settling in," he stated, staring at me with slightly parted lips. My blush got darker as I remembered what I was wearing. Both my shoulders and almost all of my legs were exposed, as well as a fair portion of cleavage.

"I'm settling in very well. Everything is so wonderful here." I shifted my weight from foot to foot.

"I am glad to hear that."

"So, I hear there's a ball soon," I attempted to make conversation. I didn't want him to leave, but I also felt very awkward, wearing such revealing clothes. "Um…yes, yes there is. It's after the coronation," he replied, still staring.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're going to be king soon."

He nodded, not really making my attempt at conversation any easier. "So, am I going to have to bow every time I see you, and call you king Caspian and stuff?" I laughed. He chuckled. "No, no of course not. We're…." he paused, searching for a word it seemed, "Friends. You don't have to do that."

I smirked, "Ok, that's good."

"yes. I'll let you get to sleep, goodnight, milady."

He grabbed hold of my hand and pressed his lips against my skin very slowly. He didn't look down. His deep brown eyes burned into mine the entire time. A dark blush spread across my cheeks as I considered how amazing his lips felt against my bare flesh.

"Goodnight, Caspian," I breathed, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

As soon as I had the door closed I skipped to my bed, hopped into it, pulled the sheets up to my chin, and fell asleep, cuddling my hand against my cheek.

"You know, Ari, I'm having a horseback riding lesson and a dancing lesson today, and this dress doesn't seem very practical for either of those things," I stated, taking in deep breaths as she tightened the straps at my back.

"Nonsense, this dress is perfect for either of those."

While she was finishing, I ran a brush through my hair, making sure it was straight and somewhat neat before following Ari out the door and down to the dining hall to have breakfast before my riding lesson.

I sat down beside Edmund, across from Lucy, and picked at my food.

I couldn't actually focus on eating anything, even if I was hungry. My stomach kept doing nervous flips, for two reasons. 1.) I didn't want anything bad to happen during my riding lesson today, and 2.) I kept thinking about my conversation with Caspian last night and I felt extremely awkward sitting near him knowing that he had seen me in such a little amount of clothing.

Finally breakfast was over and everyone went their separate ways.

I followed Lucy to the stables, which smelled like a farm. She asked a stable boy to saddle up two horses for us. After he did so he handed us the reigns and I slowly, and very very carefully, led the horse out of the stable to the field outside the castle.

Lucy left her horse to graze in the grass and walked over to me, taking the reins from my hand and holding the horse still. "Ok, all you do is-" she was cut off by the sound of a horse neighing right behind me.

I whipped around to see Caspian sitting on top of Destrier, looking very regal.

"Oh Caspian, I'm glad you're here! I forgot that Susan and I were having Christina's dress for the ball made today, and I promised Christina I would give her horseback riding lessons," Lucy called.

I turned my gaze on her, glaring.

"Would you, perhaps mind, giving her the lessons? I know you are a wonderful horseman, and I am positive you will be a wonderful teacher," she continued, a sickly sweet smile on her face. My face heated up as I thought of spending an hour riding horses with Caspian.

"It would be a pleasure," he answered, smiling at her.

Her smile got wider as she turned back to me while he dismounted his horse. "What are you doing?!" I whisper/yelled. "I said I wouldn't get you alone with him for dancing lessons, I never promised anything about riding lessons."

She flashed me another sickly sweet and innocent smile and trotted over to her horse, swinging up into the saddle and waving at both Caspian, who had taken her place holding the reins, and I before riding off back towards the castle.

And I was left alone with Caspian.

"I did not know you did not know how to ride a horse," he stated, adjusting something on the saddle of my horse. "I technically know how to…I just can't do it," I mumbled, extremely nervous and embarrassed.

"I suppose we'll work on mounting the horse first."

He took a step closer to me, causing my heart to speed up a bit. "All you have to do is," he paused to position himself right beside me. "Put your left foot in the stirrup," he put his left foot in the stirrup and grabbed onto the saddle, "get a firm hold on the saddle, then, when you think you're ready, push off with your right foot and swing your leg over, and then sit down."

He stepped away from me, grabbed the reins so the horse wouldn't move, and motioned for me to give it a try. I put my foot in the stirrup and grabbed onto the saddle. I tried not to focus on the fact that Caspian was staring at me, and took a deep breath. I bent my knees and jumped, but I wasn't high enough to swing my leg over the horse, so I tried again.

I jumped into the air, my left foot secure in the stirrup, and swung my right leg over the horse, tucking my foot into the other stirrup, and sitting down slowly and carefully.

"Very good!" Caspian cheered, handing me the reins and mounting his own horse.

"Now, we'll focus on walking. All you have to do is nudge the horse's sides just a bit with your feet, and it will move forward," he tapped his feet against his horse very lightly twice and it began to walk forward.

I slowly pushed the sides of my feet into the horse's sides and held my breath, waiting to move.

I let out a little squeak when it began to move. It was simply walking, a nice and slow pace, but I was still scared. I had to direct this animal; it wasn't like riding with Mel, when all I had to do was sit there.

"Caspian, how do I steer this thing!" I wailed.

He chuckled as he directed his horse to walk next to mine, but not close enough to make me uncomfortable. "Just pull on the reins. If you pull them to the right just a bit, he'll go to the right, pull to the left, he'll go to the left."

I pulled the reins to the right, more than I had originally thought, and it moved closer to Caspian.

Our legs brushed one another and I immediately glanced down to how close our horses were. A blush colored my cheeks and I pulled my horse to the left just a bit, but not enough to be far away from him.

"sorry," I muttered, still blushing.

"Do you think you're ready to start trotting? Or would you rather just practice dismounting?"

"Um, I think I'll do dismounting," I answered. "Ok, first you have to stop your horse. All you have to do is pull backwards on the reins, and he'll stop." I did as he said, but more gently than he did, and when the horse stopped I dropped the reins and looked down at the ground.

"Oh god, this is high. Caspian get me down from here!"

He chuckled again and jumped down from the horse, letting his horse graze while he walked over to mine. "Oh god, this is really high. I hate heights, please, Caspian, get me down from here!" He smiled and held his hands up to me.

"Just get a firm grip on the saddle and swing your right leg over like you're mounting the horse."

I did as he said, but then I froze. I didn't want to pull my left foot out of the stirrup because I knew I would fall, but I didn't want to risk reaching towards the ground with my right leg because that would most likely hurt.

"Now, slowly reach down towards the ground with your right foot," I hesitated, "Christina, you can do it," he encouraged. I still didn't move. "I don't want to fall," I whispered, looking down at the ground.

My pulse sped up and my breathing hitched when I felt his hands on my waist, gentle and comforting.

"I have you. I promise I won't let you fall. Now reach towards the ground with your right foot." I did as he said, very slowly, glancing down at the ground every few seconds. Soon enough, my foot touched the ground and I let out a deep breath, placing it flat on the ground and pulling my other foot out of the stirrup.

Unfortunately, I had moved too quickly.

My foot got caught in the stirrup, and I fell when I began to turn around.

I fell right on top of Caspian.

A dark scarlet blush painted my cheeks as I examined our current position. Him, lying flat on the ground, looking up at me, and me, lying completely on top of his entire body and my hands on his chest to brace my fall.

"I-I'm so sorry," I rushed, standing up and offering him a hand up as well.

He just smiled, brushed himself off, and grabbed the reins of both horses. "It's quite alright, don't worry about it," he replied. We walked back to the stables silently, me contemplating my first somewhat successful horseback riding experience, him leading the horses and probably day dreaming about Susan.

Once he had handed the horses off to a stable hand he led me back to the castle, where Edmund stood at the bottom of the grand staircase waiting for me. He walked up and wrapped his arms around my waist with a smile on his face.

"Ready for lessons?"

I nodded my head, a small smile forming on my lips and I turned to Caspian.

"Thank you, for that lesson today, I had a lot of fun, and I learned a lot too." I flashed him a smile and the returning smile was almost blinding. "It was an absolute pleasure, milady," he responded. "Caspian, I told you before to just call me Christina," I called to him as Edmund began to lead me away.

I followed Edmund, thinking about my riding lesson with Caspian, through hallways and corridors and up and down staircases. Finally, he stopped at a door and opened it. I stepped into what appeared to be a decent sized library. Bookshelves covered all the walls, there was a fireplace with big brown leather chairs by it. There was more furniture scattered around the room, but it appeared to have been moved.

In the center of the room was a large, colorful rug, clear of any furniture. Off to the side of the "dance floor" was a small table, on which sat a very old fashioned record player.

"Isn't this great? Lucy found this record player in the castle yesterday, I had no idea Narnia had records!" Edmund called, closing the door behind the both of us before walking over to the record player. He placed a black record on the disk and moved the needle.

A slow, classy song began to play.

Edmund grabbed my hand and dragged me to the center of the rug.

"First things first, before every dance you must bow to your partner; it's tradition."

He swept into a short, graceful bow, and straightened up, smiling at me. I attempted a very ungraceful curtsy and then stood back up. He stepped in front of me, put one hand securely on my waist, and took my other hand into his own.

"Now, put your other hand on my shoulder," he instructed.

Once I had done so he smiled, and waited for a cue in the music. When the song began to pick up pace just a bit he took a step toward me. His chest bumped into mine. "Ok, we'll try this again. When I move, you move. We're just going to be walking in a small square, almost."

"What?"

"First, we move backwards," he took a large step forward with his left foot and I stepped back with my right foot, "Then we go to the left," he stepped to the left, and I moved my foot with his, "Next we go forward," he stepped backwards and I stepped forward, "finally we go to the right," he stepped to the right and I followed suit.

"And we're back where we started, just a simple little square."

We danced quietly for a few more songs, him giving me instructions and correcting me when I did something wrong. And the best part was I only stepped on his foot a few times. Apparently, I was a lot better a dancer than I thought.

"So…." Edmund hummed.

"So….." I repeated, looking up at him.

"You fancy Caspian, don't you?" he blurted out.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: Oh Edmund... I do not own Narnia in any way, shape, or form. Please enjoy! Let me know what you think**

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"me? Like Caspian? No, no way. He's my friend, that's weird!" I lied. He noticed, he just stopped our dance, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked at me.

"Fine! Maybe I think he's a little bit attractive! But that doesn't matter, because he likes Susan, so you should forget this and not bug me about it again."

"I think he fancies you too, you know," he ignored my attempt at ending the conversation.

"No, Ed, he doesn't. It's totally obvious how much he likes Susan, and it's obvious the she likes him back, so there's no point in getting my hopes up," I replied, putting my hands on my hips and looking around the room at the books.

"Well, then perhaps we should show him what he's missing," he stated, a mischievous smile lighting up his face.

"I don't like that look, Edmund."

"We're going to make him jealous," he decided.

I laughed, raising my eyebrows and crossing my arms. "Jealous? That's a teense bit…..obvious and stupid. It wouldn't work," I told him, hoping to shoot down his thoughts before they developed too far.

"Christina, you forget that he's from Narnia, he hasn't seen things in the cinema or on the television! He has no idea about the practices of my time or even your time," his smile grew bigger as he stepped closer to me.

"It's so cliché! It would never work on someone like Caspian."

"Oh, but it would!"

"What if he doesn't like me at all? What if he just thinks I'm some irritating girl from the 21st century that's intruding on his land and in his home? Then I get my hopes up for nothing and we would have wasted all that time."

He sighed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"That's not going to happen."

"I know, but I also know it won't work."

"Fine, then just amuse me, will you? Please, do this for me!" He gave me a puppy dog pout and put his other hand on my other shoulder, squeezing me tightly and shaking me just a tad. "That's not fair, you can't use that against me!" I whined.

"Is too! So you're going to do it?"

"no."

"Good, then I have a question to ask you."

I rolled my eyes, scoffed, and pushed his hands off of me. "What?" I snapped irritantly. "Will you be my escort to the ball tomorrow?" He asked, flashing me a handsome smile. "No." I answered again.

"Please?"

"Ed, even if I did agree to this, which I don't, it would be so weird! Pretending that I like you, or pretending that you like me! Besides you're two years younger than me…..it's awkward."

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me tightly, hugging me. I sighed, but reluctantly hugged back. "Come on, Christina, don't be so boring, live a little, have fun. Even if this doesn't get Caspian, it'll be fun to see other peoples' reaction to it!"

"Edmund…." I groaned, knowing that I was giving in.

"Come on, Chris, please?"

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes, scared of what hell I was about to release with my next response.

"Fine."

Dinner that night was awkward to say the least.

After dance lessons, Edmund and I had spent a good majority of the afternoon planning out how we were going to act and what stories we would use and what we would say if anyone asked us any questions.

Well, he was planning. I was whining.

Finally it came time for dinner and Edmund insisted that we walk arm and arm down the staircase. I wouldn't have minded this, except for the fact that my dress was already pretty long on me. So I only had one arm to lift the skirt up high enough so as not to show off too much skin, but to keep from tripping.

When we arrived in the dining hall, Edmund pulled out the chair next to Peter for me, so of course I sat down. It was only after the meal had actually started that I realized Peter was on Caspian's left. So I sat there, staring at my plate, trying not to glance at Caspian, the entire night.

AWKWARD!

And what was even worse: Edmund was an amazing actor!

He seriously acted like he liked me (which embarrassed me quite a lot) and he kept doing tiny little things that were supposed to look like he was trying to make sure no one saw them, even though he was actually doing the exact opposite. Like at the beginning of the meal, he reached out to get the salt shaker, and purposefully brushed against my shoulder.

And Lucy, who oh so conveniently happened to notice, giggled, therefore causing everyone else (Susan, Peter, a few Telmarine nobles, and Caspian) to ask her what she found so amusing.

And later on he actually tucked my hair behind my ear. HE SERIOUSLY DID!

I had just finished spending a good portion of five minutes cutting up a piece of chicken and I had just skewered a piece of it on my fork and was lifting it up to my mouth when Edmund reached over and tucked a tiny little strand of hair behind my left ear.

"Don't want to get any food in such pretty hair," he muttered, going back to his food as everyone else just stared at me.

I had frozen. A dark blush was painted across my cheeks and my fork was frozen in mid air.

I would have stayed like that for a while if Ed hadn't elbowed me in the rib a second later, reminding me to play along. So I looked down and forced an embarrassed chuckle before putting the piece of chicken in my mouth and chewing, although I didn't really taste it.

The meal continued like this for another hour.

The second I had a chance to escape I did just that. The kings and queens and the prince were all deeply involved in some diplomatic conversation and I quickly stood up and pushed my seat back.

"What's wrong, Christina?" Lucy asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm just a little tired. I think I'm going to go to bed," I lied, trying to avoid looking at Caspian. "I'll walk you to your chambers. Goodnight everyone," Edmund announced, standing up and giving everyone a good natured smile before holding his arm out for me, which I took hurriedly.

Once we were out of the dining hall I let go of him and continued on my way up the stairs.

"So how was that?" Edmund wondered as we reached the top of the grand staircase. I turned my head and cracked a small smile. "It was definitely awkward. Believable, certainly believable, but very awkward." He chuckled and swung his arm around my shoulders.

"Christina the awkwardness will be worth it in the end," he cheered as we finally reached my room. I opened the door then turned back to face him. "I don't think it will. Caspian didn't seem to care one way or the other about," I did air quotes, "'us'".

"You obviously weren't watching him the entire time, then."

I raised my eyebrows at him and crossed my arms. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled again and began backing away the way we had come. "He was practically oozing green out of his skin!" and with that he took off down the hall without a goodbye, leaving me to wonder what on earth he meant by that.

I sighed deeply and closed my door, heading out to sit on the balcony.

"Stupid boys," I muttered, "I should just forget boys entirely and become some creepy cat lady."

"Quit fidgeting so much!"

"Well what do you expect me to do? I'm not exactly enjoying this dance!" I hissed, glaring at him out of the corner of my eyes. "What do you mean you're not enjoying it?" His voice sounded hurt and I risked actually looking at him for the first time.

He was too close. Entirely too close.

"You mean, you don't enjoy," he tightened his grip on my waist and pulled me closer, smashing us together (closer than we had already been). His face was only inches from mine and there was a mischievous smile on his lips, "this?"

"Awkward, awkward, awkward!" I wailed, trying to get free from his grip.

"By Jove Christina, if we're going to pretend to be a couple you have to be more comfortable around me," he sighed, pulling me even closer to him. "It's just weird Ed, you're just my friend," I told him for what seemed like the billionth time.

"Yes, I know," he whispered, looking down at me with a warm smile on his face. I smiled back.

Then the door opened.

Susan and Lucy stood there, large smiles on their faces, giggling as I snapped away from Edmund and blushed. "Hey Su, hey Lu," Edmund greeted, not at all affected by their interruption.

"How're the lessons going so far?" Lucy asked, smiling sweetly.

"Meh," I responded.

"Chris has mastered the Narnian waltz, but is struggling with both the tango and the more traditional Narnian dances," Edmund informed her. All three beamed at me and I looked down, blushing again.

"That's wonderful. Unfortunately we're going to have to steal Christina away for most of the afternoon," Susan stated, not looking at me. "What? Why?" I questioned.

"It's a surprise!" They said as both girls grabbed my arms and basically dragged me away.

I was pulled through corridors and staircases that I had never seen before until we finally stopped outside a room that appeared to be in the servants' quarters. Lucy put her hands over my eyes while Susan knocked on the door.

I could hear a strange voice greet the queens when the door was opened, and then I was lead blindly into a room. My heart was racing. For all I knew they could be selling me into slavery right now and I wouldn't know it.

"Ok, Christina, keep your eyes closed for a second, please," Lucy instructed.

I replaced her hands with mine over my eyes because I didn't trust myself to not peek.

The women shuffled things around for a few moments, every single second adding to my nerves. "Okay, open your eyes," Susan and Lucy told me at the same time. _Finally!_ I allowed my hands to fall to my sides and my eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room.

What I saw took my breath away.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note: I do not own Narnia! I know the jealousy pitch seems so cliche, but I have a specific reason, which will somewhat help build on Christina's character in later chapters, so bear with me! Let me know what you do/don't like :)**

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"Hurry up, Susan, we have to get Christina ready!" Lucy urged the girl, who sat at the vanity spraying some type of perfume on herself. "oh, Lucy, settle down, she will be ravishing, don't worry," Susan replied, calmly standing up and signaling for me to take her place in front of the vanity.

And then, all too soon for my liking, they attacked me.

Lucy began twisting my hair in different ways up pulling it in every direction while Susan was attempting to put what looked like a crude, Narnian version of eyeliner on me. I was subjected to this torture for at least another half an hour. Finally, when it was over, they allowed me to step behind the changing screen to put on my dress; Susan tied it for me.

And then Ari came in and announced that it was time to go.

I lifted up the hem of my dress and walked down the hall with the queens and followed them all the way to the grand staircase, where Peter and Edmund already were. My heart sped up and I blushed as we approached them, looking down.

I stopped right beside Lucy and Susan, not making eye contact with either of the kings, scared that they would laugh at me.

I heard nothing.

After a long silence I looked up to see both of them gaping at me.

"What?" I snapped.

Peter was the first to recover. He closed his mouth, blinked, stepped forward, and gave me a tight hug. "You look….amazing," he stated after he had let go. Next it was Edmund's turn. He squeezed me tightly and pecked my cheek really quickly.

"You look beautiful," He told me; squeezing my hands tightly after he had taken a step back.

I flashed him a tiny, shy smile, and hooked my arm with his. We were about to proceed down the stairs when Susan grabbed Edmund's hand and stopped him. "Caspian said that he wants to introduce us personally, so we have to wait until he's presented to the court," she told us.

"He wants to introduce the Kings and Queens of old. So I can go now and avoid everyone's attention," I added hopefully.

Susan grinned, like she expected me to say this.

"Caspian also said that he wants you to stay with us. He's got a surprise for you."

My eyes widened and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating. A surprise? So I have to be introduced to all these….lords and ladies? And I have to descend the staircase all….graceful-like? Knowing my luck, I would be the one to step on the train of my dress and fall down the stairs and break my neck. In front of all those important people.

I gulped.

"Um….no. That's not happening," I responded.

Trying to use the element of surprise I ripped my arm away from Edmund's, gathered my skirts, and attempted fleeing the scene.

It didn't work.

Peter stood in front of me, hands on hips, smirking.

And Edmund stood behind me, just full out laughing.

Edmund wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

Soon enough Caspian came and greeted us. Caspian hugged both Lucy and Susan, telling both of them they looked beautiful (which, of course, they did) and shook both Edmund's and Peter's hands, laughing about some guy business with them for a second.

Then he turned to me.

He looked gorgeous, as usual. Tall, dark, and handsome, he was dressed in some very elegant clothes, and a crown was upon his head, along with all the other royals. When he looked at me he didn't say anything. Just stared. For a second I thought that there was a stain or a rip on my dress, but quickly reconsidered when he stepped forward.

He took my hand in his and placed a soft, gentle kiss on the back of it.

"Christina, you look…beyond words," he muttered, looking up at me.

"I hope you mean that in a good way," I laughed, trying desperately not to blush and not succeeding. "Yes, definitely in a good way," he replied, no hints of mocking or joking in his tone or his face. He was dead serious. Just then Edmund came over and looped his arm around my waist, saying, "Yes, yes she does."

Caspian's face contorted into a half smile, half grimace and I was worried that he was in pain. But before I could voice my worries a "page," as they called them in Narnia, announced Caspian's name and the King gracefully descended the stairs. Soon after that the Pevensies were announced.

"Good luck," Edmund whispered, winking at me as he walked down the stairs beside Lucy, Peter and Susan following side by side as well.

And now I was alone.

I paced at the top of the stairs for what seemed like seconds before I heard Caspian's loud, alluring voice call attention to all the nobles.

"Lords and Ladies, it is now my proud honor to introduce the newest lady of the Telmarine court, Miss Christina Montgomery of Cair Paravel."

My heart stopped. Me? A Lady? As in…..a noble? No. Impossible.

I took a step forward and looked down the staircase to see everyone smiling up at me, applauding. My heart sped up and a blush rose on my cheeks as I grabbed my train in my left hand, put my right hand securely on the banister and slowly began my descent down the stairs.

I felt like Cinderella going to the ball.

Finally, I reached the bottom of the stairs. Edmund met me there, placed a sweet kiss on my cheek. I blushed an even darker shade of red and smiled. Then I looked up and met eyes with Caspian.

"Caspian, your majesty, thank you. I never thought I could ever be a lady, or a noble, or whatever you people call it."

He chuckled, "Please, Christina, after everything you've done for Narnia, this is the least I can do."

I smiled and quickly rushed forward, hugging him quickly, then pulling away and returning to Edmund's side, wrapping my arm around his, looking down and blushing furiously. _Bad Christina, you don't hug kings. Bad!_

_You idiot. You have your arm around one right now._

…_..shut up._

"Well, come on then, Chris, let's dance!" Edmund cheered, pulling me to the center of the dance floor where there were already a dozen or so couples dancing.

"What dance is this?" I whispered hastily.

"It's the waltz, calm down. You're fine." He responded, flashing me a brilliant, toothy grin.

Edmund led me the entire time, and I only stepped on his foot once. When the dance was over we stepped away from one another and bowed. After that Edmund was whisked away by a thin, tall, gorgeous Telmarine girl who looked like she could be a super model if she wanted.

I found myself a chair and sat down, smiling and watching the Narnians enjoy the festivities. Susan was dancing with a handsome, pale gentleman that looked to be just a year or two older than her. Peter and Lucy were dancing on the corner of the dance floor, both giggling jubilantly.

Caspian was dancing with a blonde girl with blue eyes and flawless skin. She was average height, pretty thin, and her hair was curled to perfection. She looked like a porcelain doll. She smiled and talked with him, and he smiled and talked back, but I had the feeling that he wouldn't ask for a second dance.

"Christina! What are you doing, sitting down?" Lucy and peter had finished their dance.

"Not much of a dancer, "I replied, shrugging.

Peter glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widened a bit, then he grabbed my hand and quickly pulled me to the dance floor. Lucy just laughed and skipped off to somewhere. I was too surprised to even realize that Peter and I were dancing.

"Well, if you wanted to dance, you could've just asked…" I trailed off sarcastically.

"Sorry, desperate times call for desperate measures," Peter replied, spinning me around.

"What desperate times?" I wondered.

"The ladies. Any lady, really, telmarine or narnian. They're always hoping that they'll be able to 'woo a king' and end up a queen. Vice versa with the gentlemen. I just thank Aslan men haven't begun to go after Lucy yet," he sighed, dipping me back only slightly.

"So, they're basically after you for your money and your status?"

He nodded.

I pulled him closer and rested my head on his shoulder as he led me. "I'm sorry, Peter. Everyone should have their own chance at love; money and status and whatever else those women are after shouldn't get in the way of it."

He put his hand on the back of my head and tightened his grip on my waist, hugging me.

"Thanks, Chris," he muttered as the dance ended.

"Oh, Pete, you're not trying to keep Christina all to yourself, are you?" Edmund's teasing voice piped up from behind me. I giggled as he took my hand, spun me around, and smoothly began dancing with me, winking at his brother, he beamed in return.

"So, have you spoken to Caspian since before the ball?"

I shook my head, looking around the room, trying to find him. He was dancing with a girl who looked no older than 16. She kept trying to get closer and closer to him and he continued to hold her at an arm's distance away. The discomfort was obvious on his face.

"Poor guy….looks like he's having the time of his life," I muttered, looking back at Edmund.

He chuckled and pulled me closer. "So, it turns out that I'm a better actor than I thought I was," he stated, grinning smugly. "and what exactly makes you say that?" I questioned, quirking my eyebrows at him.

"Three different ladies, all older and married, have asked me about you," he said.

"Who? What does that mean?" I wondered, loosening my grip on his hand.

"See, in Narnia, there really is no such thing as dating. So, when a man begins to show interest in a woman," he winked at me and dipped me back, laughing as I squealed, "it basically means he's out for her hand in marriage. Or a good shag…" he trailed off.

"So do all those women think you're trying to get in my pants?" I questioned, somewhat irritated. "No!" he replied immediately, "They think I want to marry you. Which, honestly, I find quite amusing. They keep asking questions about our 'history' and my 'plans' for proposing."

At this I laughed. The idea of Edmund, getting down on one knee in front of me was hilarious. It was almost like your brother confessing his undying affection for you. Nothing but a joke shared between two people close to one another.

I was laughing so hard that Edmund and I had stopped dancing. He chuckled too. Taking my hand, he led me off the dance floor and to a table, where we both sat and laughed for a minute or two before we finally settled down.

"I love you, Edmund Pevensie." I stated, half joking, half serious.

"I love you too, Christina Montgomery."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm interrupting something, aren't I?"

I whipped my head around and found Caspian hovering awkwardly behind me, looking at Edmund with some un-nameable emotion. Edmund looked back at Caspian and smiled joyfully.

"No, no, not at all. Please, go ahead," he answered.

"I was just coming over here to see if _Lady_ Christina wished to dance, but you two seem to be in quite good spirits, I would hate to break the moment up," he rushed, beginning to turn away.

"No!" I called, blurting it out before I could stop myself.

My eyes widened and I looked to Edmund to help me as Caspian turned back toward us and waited for someone to say something. "You're not breaking up the moment, Caspian, of course Chris would like to dance with you!" Edmund told him, his smile becoming just a bit smaller.

"But-"

"Yes, come on, Caspian, let's dance. I don't want to keep Ed from enjoying the telmarine women!" I teased, winking at Edmund as I stood up and reached for Caspian's hand.

Caspian let out a somewhat awkward laugh and took my hand. Edmund stood up as well and leaned in to give me another peck on the cheek, whispering, just loud enough for Caspian to hear, although he acted like it was meant just for me, "You know the only woman I enjoy is you."

Then he clapped Caspian on the back and began walking away, calling "Have fun!" over his shoulder.

Silently, he led me to the dance floor, where another waltz was playing, thankfully.

After about a minute of silent dancing I looked up and smiled at Caspian. He flashed me a breath taking smile in return, then looked away. He appeared to want to say something, but didn't know how to phrase it. He kept opening his mouth and closing it.

"Caspian, is something wrong?"

He stared straight into my eyes and shook his head, letting out a flustered laugh.

"So, you and King Edmund are getting married?" he wondered. My breath hitched. How would I respond to that? Tell him the whole thing? 'Nah, we were just acting like we were in love to make you jealous because really I'M in love with you'? Absolutely not.

"Where did you hear that?"

"All the married women are gossiping about it. The eligible bachelorettes of the kingdom are all in low spirits. One of their Kings is interested in a Lady," he really seemed to have trouble saying it. What was wrong with him?

"I had no idea news could spread that quickly around here," I muttered.

"So it's true then?"

"Umm…." I hesitated, what story could I make up now? "It hasn't been officially declared or anything of the sort. But Edmund has made his intentions clear." I told him.

Technically, it wasn't a lie. Edmund and I most definitely did not say anything or make any plans for getting married, seeing as how it wouldn't happen. But Edmund did make his intentions clear; he intended to make Caspian jealous.

"You two are very lucky. So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you two waiting for? Why not get married?" I tried not to laugh. "We're still just kids, Caspian. I'm barely 18, Edmund's only 16. We couldn't possibly get married now!"

"Age shouldn't matter," he stated boldly.

"It doesn't," I snapped. Why was he pushing the marriage issue so much? Did he want me married off so I could quit irritating him? Something of the sort.

"Then why don't you two get married. Here! In Telmar!"

"If you want a wedding so bad why don't you go marry Susan? Lord knows she'll take you quite gladly!" I practically yelled.

He was taken aback. The dance ended, but we both continued to stand there, holding one another, staring. I refused to blink or look away. I was not going to lose this. I would stay strong. He would look away.

After a few moments he realized what he was doing and let go of my waist.

Keeping a firm grip on my hand, he pulled me off the dance floor, out of the ball, and onto some balcony. I crossed my arms over my chest and just stared at him. He ran a hand through his hair and paced back and forth a second before stopping and staring at me.

"What do you mean?" he demanded flatly.

"What?"

"What do you mean Susan would 'take me quite gladly'?"

His eyes seared into mine. I had to look away. "The way she looks at you. It's like…" I tried to think of an example to use, to show him just how much Susan liked him, "It's like how Edmund looks at me."

"And how is that exactly?"

"Like you're the only person in the world."

Looking up at him, I saw he was staring at me intensely, hanging onto my every word. "She looks at you like you're Aslan himself. She loves you, Caspian." It hurt to say, but Susan really did love him. And He loved her.

"Christina?"

I don't think I'd ever been as relieved to hear Edmund's voice as I was right then.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note: What do you guys think?**** I still don't own Narnia, sadly.**

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"Over here!" I called, waiting for him to come into view.

When he did, he walked over to where Caspian and I were located, wrapped a secure arm around my waist, and smiled at the King in front of me, who was too submerged in his own thoughts to even smile back.

"What're you two doing out here?"

"We were discussing an important matter," Caspian replied in a cold monotone.

"She just became a lady of the court and you're already dragging her into Narnian politics? Good man, Caspian!" Edmund joked, nudging me. I laughed, trying to lighten the mood around us.

"Heh, yes," Caspian stuttered.

"Well, if you wouldn't mind, I need to steal Christina away from you for the moment. The ball is about to end and I would like to share my last dance with her," Edmund said, pulling me away smoothly.

"So what was that about?"

"It was nothing. He was just asking when you and I were going to get married," I giggled, poking his nose.

"How about right now?" Edmund winked as he twirled me around and pulled me close to begin the dance. A bright smile lit up my face and I couldn't help but nuzzle closer as we danced in slow circles.

"Christina Montgomery, will you marry me?" Edmund asked.

He kept a straight face, but there was a twinkle of humor in his eyes. I kissed his cheek and nodded my head, keeping a smile off my face as well. "Edmund Pevensie, I would love nothing more than to marry you!"

He laughed and spun me around.

"So, how did Caspian look to you?" he whispered in my ear.

"He was acting really terribly and I have no idea why. He kept pushing the idea of marriage to me. Like he wanted me to be married off quickly so I was completely out of his way."

Edmund rolled his eyes as we finished dancing and bowed to one another.

"You obviously don't know boys very well."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's not _you_ he wants out of the way," he replied.

"Then who? Peter? Because he's an awful lot of competition!"

"No,_ me_, crazy!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his last statement. "Edmund, you're sixteen. Caspian's what….twenty one? There's no way he's jealous of you! He's got everything you've got!" He just threw his arm over my shoulder and led me to a table as the people in the room began to slowly disperse.

"Everything I have. Except you."

"How many times do I have to tell you? He doesn't want me! He wants Susan, look."

I gestured towards the refreshments table, where Susan and Caspian stood, talking and laughing with one another. "Maybe he's just settling for her, because he can't have you." Edmund then stood up, took my hand, and began to lead me towards the door that led to the grand staircase.

"And why can't he have me?" I raised both my eyebrows.

"Because…" he paused and looked behind him. Then he looked back at me, squeezed my hand and leaned just a little closer. "You're mine."

"Edmund, Christina! Did you two have a nice time?" Susan's voice rang out.

She and Caspian had been following us out of the great hall and into the foyer. A light blush painted my cheeks as I realized that Susan and Caspian had heard what Edmund had said.

"Yes, I was quite impressed with the Telmarine musicians," Edmund said, nodding at Caspian.

"They are remarkable, aren't they?" Caspian chuckled.

"What about you, Christina? Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh yes! It was incredible."

"And might I say, your dancing was impressive!" Edmund teased.

I playfully pushed him. "I had a great teacher!"

Susan laughed; her voice was like church bells ringing. It was beautiful. It made me squirm with jealousy. I would never be Susan. I would never be perfect. I would never be what Caspian wanted.

The four of us walked together, engaging in small talk and joking, all the way up to the corridor that all our rooms were located in. Edmund placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me to my door.

I was about to invite him into my room to talk and "chill" out when Susan called out, "Edmund, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Someone's in trouble," I whispered, biting my lip to keep from laughing.

"In a minute, Susan, I must first bid adieu to my lovely maiden," Edmund wailed; he was obviously being sarcastic and dramatic. I laughed at his antics as he got to one knee in front of me, taking my hand and kissing it.

"Goodnight, dear Christina."

"Goodnight, Edmund."

I pulled him up, hugged him tightly, and then pushed him in the direction of his sister. Susan bid Caspian and I both goodnight, smiling. Edmund said goodnight to Caspian as he was walking away. Then, Susan's bedroom door closed and I was left alone in the hallway with Caspian.

"He seems to really love you," Caspian breathed.

At first I thought I imagined it.

"You two are very lucky."

I looked at him as he took a step towards me, probably preparing to say goodnight so he could get away from this awkward conversation.

"You already said that, you know," I informed him quietly.

"My apologies," he murmured.

"Caspian, you've been acting out of sorts all evening, are you sure you're feeling well? It's beginning to worry me a bit," I told him, seriously tempted to put my hand against his forehead and see if he had a fever. I restrained myself.

"I'm confused, Christina."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Why would he be telling me this?

"About what?"

"How can you fall so quickly in love?"

Surprise overcame me as I stumbled back, never in a million years would I have expected that kind of response when I asked a king why he was confused.

"Pardon me?"

"I'm sorry, I overstepped my boundaries," he rushed, going to leave.

"No, no you didn't. I was just caught off-guard by that question, that's all. You don't have to go," I blabbered, unsure of how to get him to stay. "I uh…I don't really know how to answer that question…"

"May I come in for a moment?" he asked, motioning to the door.

"Sure," I agreed, opening the door and standing aside so he could enter the room.

After I was in my room as well, I closed the door and sat on the bed. Caspian grabbed the chair that faced the fire and turned it around to face the bed, then he sat down and looked me straight in the eyes.

"I am sorry I was acting so oddly this evening. I don't know what it was that came over me."

I smiled. "There's no need to apologize! I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

Before either of us could continue the conversation there was a knock on the door. I hopped up and answered it. There stood Ari and a strange man that was dressed in what looked like a servants' clothing.

"Lady Christina, my dearest apologies for disturbing you, but I am in search of King Caspian, have you perhaps seen him?" the man asked. Ari looked slightly flustered and in a hurry, but she stood by silently while the man spoke.

"I'm here, Nevin; Lady Christina and I were just discussing her first order of business as a Lady of the Court. Is someone in need of me?"

"The Great Lion Aslan requests your presence, sir."

"As he does yours, milady," Arianna told me, both of them bowing before they scurried off.

"Come on, then." Caspian muttered, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the corridors.

When we reached the final stair in the grand foyer, a deep, calming voice met our ears. "King Caspian?" Both our heads turned to see the great lion moving in our direction. I bowed my head.

"Aslan," he greeted quietly.

"The Telmarines are growing weary. There is talk of rebelling. We need to expel any chance of the people rising up against you and the court," the lion said.

"How?"

"Tomorrow, we will meet in the center of the village. Every Narnian and Telmarine, alike, will be required to attend. There you will tell them of their choice between staying in Telmar and living in peace with the Narnians, or going back to the land of their forefathers."

"The Telmarines haven't left our country in centuries."

"This does not concern Telmar. I am talking about an island. Your ancestors were pirates, and while they were sailing, they found an island, the island that transported them here."

"But where did they come from? Originally?" Caspian demanded.

Aslan nodded his head toward me.

"My world? Earth? Did they come from earth?" I wondered.

He nodded his head, looking back at Caspian. "I trust you can arrange the gathering?" He nodded his head, still trying to comprehend what he had been told. "It will be done, my king," he answered quietly.

"Very good. And Now, my dear child, you and I shall take a turn about the gardens," Aslan told me.

I cast a fleeting glance at Caspian before I followed the lion outdoors and into the moonlit garden. "You still question why you are here, child?" I nodded my head vigorously, anxiously awaiting his explanation.

"That is for you to discover in your own time."

"Alsan please, not even a hint?"

"Not even a hint, my dear."

I sighed as we rounded another rose bush and the entrance of the castle came back into sight. "You still have a question." Yet again, it was a statement, not a question. "Aslan, of all the people you could've picked to bring here, why me? I'm just….Christina. Nothing special."

"You are something special. You have talent beyond explanation, and possibilities that amaze even me."

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, my dear. Now, I believe it is time you got some sleep. King Caspian is still in the great foyer, if you need a guide back to your chambers," he stated, winking at me as he sauntered away slowly.

"Thank you, Aslan," I whispered, darting back into the castle to catch Caspian before he disappeared, leaving me alone to fend for myself in this giant castle.

"That went fairly quick," the King commented as I fell instep beside him.

"I basically abandoned him so I could come find you."

He glanced over at me.

"Oh," I chuckled, realizing how creepy that sounded, "I just knew that, without a guide, I'd get lost in this giant castle. Then I'd be forced to curl up into the fetal position on the floor and just lay there, sucking my thumb, until someone found me."

His booming laughter almost made me scream.

It seemed so loud in the silent castle.

"Well, I am glad that you caught me," he choked out between his laughs.

I rolled my eyes and lifted my skirts as we jogged up a spiral staircase, then trudged down a familiar corridor. At the end, we turned left, and there was the hallway which housed all the royals' rooms, as well as my own.

"Goodnight, Christina. Be sure to get up early tomorrow morning, the gathering starts at nine exactly," Caspian whispered, taking hold of my hand and kissing it.

"Goodnight, Caspian," I breathed, closing my door and leaning my back against it.

_Oh Caspian…._


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: I don't own Narnia, unfortunately. Here it is, the most dreaded chapter, in my opinion. A bit of Christina's character becomes more apparent in this chapter, when she is faced with grief and loss. Hopefully it's done well, let me know what you think! **

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The next morning I was woken up by the curtains being yanked open and light flooding the room.

"Ari, what are you doing?" I demanded groggily, covering my eyes with my pillow.

"None of that now, milady. King Caspian has called a gathering that all in Telmar must attend. You have a quarter of an hour, Lady Christina."

I snapped out of bed.

"Fifteen minutes?!" I cried, panicking.

While Ari laced up the back of my under-dress I violently yanked a brush through my hair, trying to tame it as much as possible. Pulling on the exterior portion of the dress, I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for Ari to lace that as well.

Then I dabbed on the tiniest amount of perfume and set off, running at top speed as my "hand maiden" led the way to the village, where a huge crowd of people were already gathered around what looked to be a stage.

Glenstorm, Trufflehunter, the badger, Trumpkin, the Pevensies, King Caspian, and Aslan were all stationed on the stage, looking very grim.

I pushed my way through the people, settling on a spot in the crowd near the front.

"Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as it does to man. Any Telmarines who want to stay and live in peace are welcome to. But for any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the home of our forefathers," Caspian started strongly, silencing any muttering within the crowd.

"It's been generations since we left Telmar!" one man called out.

"We're not referring to Telmar," Aslan announced sternly.

"Your ancestors were seafaring brigands; pirates run a-ground on an island. There they found a cave, a rare cavern that brought them here from their world, the same world as our Kings and Queens. It is to that island I can return you. It is a good place for any who wish to make a new start."

"I will go. I will accept the offer."

I turned to see a cold, middle aged Telmarine moving forward. It was the same man that tried to kill Caspian with a spear during the battle. I shuddered.

"So will we," Caspian's aunt, recently widowed and clutching a baby, added.

Together, the group of Adults walked toward the stage, towards aslan.

"Because you have spoken first, your future in that world will be good," the great lion promised.

With that, he turned his head and let out a deep exhale. The huge tree that stood behind the stage began turning, its branches creaking while doing so. After only a few moments, the trunk separated, forming what looked to be an Arc-way in the middle of thin air.

None of them asked any questions. Instead they just proceeded forward.

I thought that when they walked through the arc, they would just come out the other side. But, as I watched the last man disappear, I realized that I should have known better. After all, it was Aslan we were dealing with.

Gasps issued from all around me, even a few began muttering angry words.

"How do we know he is not leading us to our death?"

Was he talking about Aslan? How dare he? This was Aslan. King of all Kings. How could anyone question him? Or was he referring to Caspian? How could he? Caspian was simply a man. What everyone had just seen was by no means orchestrated by a mere human being.

"Sire, if my example can be of any service, I will take 11 mice through with no delay."

Aslan didn't answer Reepicheep. Instead, he looked up at the Pevensies.

"We'll go."

_What? NO!_

"We will?"

The eldest pevensie looked at his younger siblings and sighed, "Come on, time's up. After all, we're not really needed here anymore." Peter approached Caspian, unbuckling his sword from his waist and handing it to him.

It was a peace offering.

"I will look after it until you return." Caspian vowed, gripping the hilt.

"I'm afraid that's just it," Susan muttered, looking extremely close to tears, "We're not coming back."

_Oh god no. Please don't take the pevensies away. Not Edmund, Aslan. _

"We're not?" Lucy questioned.

"You two are," Peter stated as he rejoined his family. "At least, I think he means you two."

I stared at Aslan. How could he do this? Narnia just got out of a war! The Narnians needed their Kings and Queens. I needed them. The Pevensies belonged in Narnia. This was their home. They can't leave now.

"But Why? Did they do something wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Quite the opposite, dear one. But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learned what they can from this world; now it's time for them to live in their own," Aslan explained.

Tears sprung to my eyes. This was really happening. The Pevensies were going to leave. _WAIT! What about me? I came to Narnia around the same time as the Pevensies (give or take a couple days). Does that mean that I have to leave soon too?_

_No, Christina, you have yet to fulfill your task. _

My eyes snapped up to the lion. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that he had just been inside my head.

"It's alright, Lu," Peter reassured, "It's not how I thought it would be, but it's alright. One day you'll see too. Come on." He took her hand and led his family over to those standing on the edge of the stage. Here it was: time to say goodbye.

I couldn't just stand here as my friends, my best friends, left.

As quickly as I could, I pushed through the remaining people in front of me and almost threw myself onto the stage, crying, "No!" Their eyes snapped up to stare at me, the crazy girl on the edge of the platform.

I made my way over to the three Pevensies (Susan had stayed back to talk to Caspian.)

"Oh, Christina!" Lucy cried, capturing me in a bone crushing hug.

I returned the sentiment, squeezing my eyes shut in an attempt to stop the already flowing tears. "I don't want you to go!" I whispered to her, patting her shoulder as she stepped away and wiped her tears. She smiled sadly, agreeing with me without a word.

"Goodbye, Christina," Peter muttered, holding his arms out for a hug.

I squeezed him as tightly as I could, trying to convey just how much I would miss him into this one hug. "This is the last time I'll ever see you, isn't it?" It then dawned on me. This was the last time I would ever see any of the Pevensies.

"You'll always be my big brother, Peter," I managed to say as he moved away.

Now came the worst part of all.

"I-"

I couldn't find words. The lump in my throat had expanded to the size of a watermelon, making it difficult to even breathe. He looked down at me, those familiar brown eyes so full of sadness.

"Edmund!" I wailed, throwing myself at him.

I must have held him, bawling into his shirt, for what seemed like hours before we finally let go.

"You're my best friend, Ed," I choked out.

"It's a pity I can't stay longer, the plot with Caspian was just beginning to thicken," he whispered, winking.

At the name, I turned around to see how he and Susan were faring.

Their lips were locked in a kiss.

A whole new round of tears came on, one that I could easily pass as crying for the Pevensies, as I turned around to face Edmund. "Told you so," I half-heartedly joked.

"Christina," his voice was completely serious.

I looked up from my unwavering gaze on the ground to meet Edmund's eyes just as I felt him wrap his arms around my waist and pull me close. Before I could comprehend what was happening, his lips were on mine.

They were soft and warm and tender. Everything I imagined Caspian's would be.

But I was too consumed by shock to even respond. This was Edmund. My best friend in the entire world. And he was kissing me. In broad daylight!

"Go along with it!" he whispered, against my lips.

_It's an act. For Caspian, you idiot._

_OOOHHH!_

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close.

This was his last ditch effort at trying to make Caspian jealous. I doubted it would work, but I couldn't bring myself to argue or fight with him mere moments before he left me for good.

When he finally pulled away I hugged him tightly again.

"It worked," he whispered in my ear, looking over my shoulder.

Then, he let go of me and joined his family.

"I love you, Christina Montgomery," Edmund announced out loud.

"I love you, Edmund Pevensie."

"I'm sure when I'm older I'll understand," Lucy whispered to Peter, who just chuckled.

And Just like that, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund Pevensie walked out of my life.

Tears rolled down my cheeks silently as I held my breath to keep from screaming. Narnia wasn't Narnia without the Pevensies. I didn't know how I would deal with them being gone. What was going to happen now?

Without saying a word I climbed off the stage and walked back to the castle.

No one tried to stop me.

As I reached the entrance of the great stone building I realized my mistake. I still hadn't learned how to navigate the castle yet. How was I supposed to get to my chambers when I didn't even know which direction to go?

More tears streaked out of my eyes: I was hopeless.

Scoffing, I gathered up the skirt of my dress and took off up the staircase, desperate to get out of the public eye and grieve the loss of my friends in peace. I ran for at least ten minutes, turning down random corridors and taking foreign staircases.

When I stopped, I was in the middle of a secluded spiral staircase.

Bawling now, I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face from view. Uncontrollable sobs shook through me as I let today's events sink in.

The Pevensies were gone.

Edmund was gone.

The name alone brought on a whole new fit of tears. Edmund. My best friend. Edmund. The one who trusted me with his deepest insecurities and biggest fears. The one I trusted with my secrets and fears. The one that was there for me. The one that held me when I cried.

The one I loved.

"Edmund, Edmund, Edmund," I chanted over and over.

After a while I had convinced myself that if I said his name enough, Aslan would bring him back. Even after the sun had gone down, bathing the staircase in shadows, I continued whispering his name; anxiously waiting for when he would appear in front of me, smiling at how I had fallen for his prank. Waiting for when he would laugh and tell me that he loved me, and Narnia, and would never leave willingly.

He never did.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's note: I don't own Narnia, it is all C.S. Lewis'. Bombshell at the end of this chapter. Fair warning. More explanation to follow, but I'm just telling you now! Read/review! **

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"Christina? Christina!" a familiar voice yelled.

My head shot up and I stopped calling for Edmund.

"I doubt she is in this part of the castle, my lord," another familiar voice sounded.

"She doesn't know her way around yet, she could be anywhere," he brushed off Ari's comment and continued yelling my name. I didn't know if I wanted him to find me or not. As much as I wanted to be with him, I couldn't. Not so soon after my friends had left.

I needed to be alone.

The footsteps got closer and closer. His voice grew louder and louder. Despite my yearning to be alone, I didn't move. I just closed my eyes and went back to chanting Edmund's name, quieter now.

"Christina!" Caspian gasped as he finally reached where I was.

I didn't look up. He couldn't see me in this state.

"Christina, you had me scared to death! I didn't see you when the gathering was over and none of the servants knew where you were. How long have you been here?"

"Edmund," I whispered.

He remained silent for the longest time. I had begun to think he left me. But then he dismissed Arianna, telling her he would take me to my room; he took a seat on the cold stone beside me. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Christina…" he trailed off.

"Edmund's gone, Caspian. He's gone…and I'll probably never see him again."

A painful sob left me after I finished speaking. I had just said it out loud. That made it real. That made it final. The words hung in the air, almost taunting me. I tried my hardest to take them back, but they stayed out in the open, laughing at my misery.

He didn't speak.

What was there to say after such a declaration as that?

Instead, he scooted closer and wrapped both his arms around me. Without any sign of warning, he pulled me into his lap. I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest, crying even harder.

Edmund would have chuckled at this.

I probably would have been freaking out too, if I weren't so god damn distressed over Edmund.

That stupid boy, he ruined everything.

The sleeve of my dress slid down my shoulder as I shifted my weight and readjusted myself so I would make Caspian less uncomfortable. He pulled me close, patted my back, and snuggled his nose against my neck, his skin touching my own; his breath sending tingles along the skin of my bare neck.

He held me while I cried, whispering sweet nothings into my ear.

I didn't know how long we sat like that. But by the time I had cried myself sick Caspian was tired looking, and extremely quiet. He was probably half asleep.

I sniffled, wiping my nose and attempting to get up.

His arms tightened around my waist and his eyes narrowed, staring at me as I tried again. He merely shook his head and straightened up, leaning his back against the wall and turning me so I faced him directly.

"I'm so sorry, Christina," he whispered, his eyes brimming with tears.

And that's when it hit me.

How selfish was i?

Caspian was hurting too.

"oh Caspian!" I cried, securing my arms tightly around him as more tears leaked from my eyes.

"I didn't even think about it. I'm so sorry, I'm so selfish! You must be in so much more pain than I am, you lost Susan! Oh god, Caspian, you don't have to comfort me! I should be comforting you!" I rambled, looking at his eyes.

He winced when I said Susan's name.

"No! Do not apologize. You lost the one you love."

"he was more than that," I told him, hugging him again, "he was my best friend."

"Come, dear Christina. You must be exhausted."

He didn't see me shake my head feebly or hear any of my protests as he stood, holding me bridal style, and carried me through the many halls and staircases, to where my chamber was. My eyes landed on the door beside my own.

Never Again would Edmund walk out of that room.

And just when I thought I had run out of tears, more appeared.

Caspian opened my door with one hand, not even shaking or wavering as he held me with his other free hand, and carried me to my bed. After setting me down, he silently went to the wardrobe and removed a nightgown.

When he came back he handed it to me and turned around.

Through my tears, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the fact that, out of all the nightgowns I had in my wardrobe, he randomly selected the one that showed the most cleavage and was considerably shorter than the rest.

"uh…caspian.." I muttered, looking down.

He turned to look at me questioningly.

"I um….i need help….unlacing it…" I told him sheepishly, blushing.

He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat. I closed my eyes and moved closer to him, sticking out my abdomen while trying to ignore how dangerously close his hands were to my chest as he gracefully untied the front knots.

"There you are," he stated, turning back around.

I cleared my throat and he once again turned around.

"I need you to do the back too," I managed to choke out.

I felt my cheeks turn bright red as I slowly pulled the over-dress off and turned; shivering, I realized the reason why I had put something over this part of the dress earlier in the day.

It was partially see-through.

I silently thanked god that he was facing my back and not my front as he quickly untied the knots, letting the dress fall from my shoulders. I couldn't turn, I just counted to ten before taking the dress off and slipping the nightgown over my head, hoping he'd turned back around.

"um, thanks," I said once I had finished dressing myself.

"Christina…" he trailed off again as he turned to look at me.

My heart beat sped up immensely as I saw his eyes look me up and down several times before he settled his eyes on the ground. I couldn't find it in myself to find even the tiniest inkling of hope that maybe he thought I was pretty.

He was, after all, still a guy. A guy that had just lost the girl he loved, nonetheless.

"It's going to be weird, going to sleep knowing that you and I are the only ones in this hallway now," I sighed, taking a seat on my bed and patting the spot next to me, gesturing him over.

"It is, isn't it?" he agreed as he sat down.

"Thank you, Caspain," I breathed, staring at the side of his face, analyzing every single feature.

"For what, milady?"

"For earlier. You really didn't have to sit there and suffer through that. The fact that you stayed anyways, and didn't even mention that you probably had more reason to be upset than I did, means a lot to me," I told him.

"You had every reason in the world to be upset," he growled.

"So did you. But you stayed strong."

"So did you."

A cruel, humorless laugh sounded from my lips at his words. He had to be kidding. Running off and hiding in a secluded corner of the castle; bawling my eyes out over one of my friends was definitely NOT what I considered strong.

"You have been strong and brave for so long, Christina. I am surprised it took this long for you to break down," he informed me.

"You must be blind if you think I've been strong or brave even once since you and I met."

"You handled that war, the battle, better than I think any girl really could. Even better than Susan or Lucy," he insisted. I rolled my eyes scornfully.

"Caspian, I was having a panic attack in the middle of the field. I even debated running."

I didn't, however, go as far as to tell him that it was he who kept me from doing so. That it was my thoughts of him that kept me on that battlefield. He who kept me fighting even after I was injured. It was all due to him.

"But you didn't," he breathed, looking at me.

"Get some sleep, milady, we've got a lot of work ahead of us now that the kings and queens are no longer here." I thought his words would bring more tears to my eyes, but they didn't.

Finally, I had been cried out. There were no more tears in my system.

"Goodnight, Caspian. Thank you, for everything. I'm sorry you had to put up with me like that."

"I'm not," he answered, leaning forward and placing his lips against my forehead, "Goodnight."

As I laid in my bed that night, I thought of Edmund. Of course, he was my best friend. Not only in Narnia, he was probably a better friend to me than anyone I had met back in New York too. But could that explain why I was feeling the way I was feeling?

He didn't die.

Something inside me tugged at my heart, and I yearned to know what it was that was causing me this much pain. I had friends move away before, but none of that had prepared me for this feeling.

_You love him. _

_**As a friend, yeah. **_

_No Christina, real love. _

My breath flew out of me like a ton of bricks had been dropped on my chest. Suddenly everything made sense. Of course I loved Edmund. Why else would I bond to him so quickly, why else would I have gone along with the stupid jealousy plot if not to get closer to him?

_But I like Caspian. _

So where did this leave my feelings with Caspian? If I had subconsciously had feelings for Edmund the entire time, what do I do now. I could forget about Edmund and pursue Caspian. I had the perfect opportunity to do so, now that Susan was gone.

But something told me that wouldn't work for either of us.

I needed to grieve. I needed to miss Edmund.

This new revelation changed everything, but nothing at the same time. Edmund was gone now, and I would probably never see him again. Caspian was still here and he was still a good man. And I still liked him.

Eventually, if Aslan allowed me to stay here long enough, I would be able to reevaluate my feelings for Caspian, and perhaps pursue him once I had gotten over Edmund.

I fell asleep that night, dreaming about the last view I had of Edmund Pevensie: his back as he left Narnia.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note: I know the last chapter kind of ended in a different place than most people anticipated. Hopefully this chapter kind of answers some of your questions! **

**I still do not own Narnia or anything within it! **

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When I awoke the next day, I was blissfully unaware of the previous days' events. At least, for a few seconds. As I came to, and became more alert, recognition sunk in, and tears formed in my eyes.

"Edmund," I whispered to myself.

"Milday?"

Ari poked her head into the door, and once she saw me awake she closed the door and rushed to my bed, sitting beside me and pulling both my hands into her lap.

"Christina! I was so worried! I didn't know where you had gone after the Kings and Queens left. I was almost afraid you had left with them!"

I shook my head sadly and tried to blink away my tears. It didn't work.

"Come, let us prepare you for breakfast," she said, smiling and standing up.

Again, I shook my head, and laid back down.

"I don't feel well. Please, give my apologies to King Caspian. I think I am going to stay in bed today, try to sleep it off."

Ari seemed to know that I wasn't actually sick, but she looked concerned. A beautiful girl like her, I doubted she knew exactly what heartbreak felt like, but everyone has lost someone important to them. She could sympathize in some way or another.

"Of course, Chris. I will send some food later."

She brushed some of my hair behind my ear and patted my cheek, something a mother would do, before leaving silently. When I was sure she was gone I closed my eyes and allowed myself to sob. I tried my best to keep my whimpering to a minimum, but the shakes really got to me. I felt like I was convulsing almost.

"Why Aslan? Why Edmund?" I yelled aloud.

_Christina _

My eyes flew open, I looked round but I could not find the body to match the voice.

_Christina _

I closed my eyes and I saw him, Edmund, there. Leaning down, pressing his lips against mine softly. Another round of tears flowed and my nose began to run. I wiped it on the sheets and sighed.

_Why am I even sad? I didn't love him for more than a week. _

_**He was your best friend. **_

_So?_

A sharp knock sounded at the door, causing me to jump.

"Who is it?" I yelled, scared to get out of my bed.

"It's me," Caspian whispered on the other side of the door.

I grit my teeth as I got out of the bed and tip toed to the door. As much as I wanted to be in his company, he was the last person I wanted to see right now. I opened the door a tiny crack and looked up.

He looked like an absolute wreck. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, from lack of sleep, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes seemed less bright, drooping like his energy had been drained out of him through a straw.

"Ari told me you were sick," he whispered.

I sniffled, wiping my eyes, trying to look sleepy rather than like I had just cried.

"I don't feel very good," I mumbled, not looking into his eyes.

"Can I come in?"

I furrowed my brows and looked up. When his eyes met mine they widened slightly. I saw the recognition there. The frown he had on his face deepened and he took a step forward. Without my permission he reached down and wrapped his arms around me.

"Pleas, Chris, talk to me about it?" he seemed so broken. It scared me.

I motioned for him to come in, then closed the door. I led us to the couch and I sat down next to him, with my arm around his shoulders. I couldn't take it. I know he was hurting too, but this was the least king-ly I had ever seen him, and it frightened me, to see just how affected he was by Susan's absence.

"What's wrong, Caspian?"

"Susan! You! Edmund! Everything!" he yelled out, throwing his hands into the air.

"What do you mean?"

He buried his face in his hands and mumbled in between his fingers, "Christina, I don't even know what I am feeling. Susan… she's so beautiful. But-but you! You're… you're in love with Edmund and I just don't understand! How could that have come about so quickly. You only knew him for such a short time!"

"Caspian, Edmund was," I paused, thinking how I was referring to him like he was dead, "Edmund is my best friend. He understands me."

I didn't know how to explain it. I didn't even know if there was something to explain. Edmund had thought it a game to make Caspian jealous. But it had amounted to so much more to me. I don't know if he even felt the same way.

Should I explain it to him? Would he understand? Or would he just get angry at me? For having pretended? Was I pretending at this point?

"Caspian, Edmund and I… it wasn't real. Well, it was, I love him, but- oh god, I don't know how to explain this to you. I don't think he felt for me what I felt for him," I whispered, not looking at him.

"How could he not?" he snapped.

"Because! He thought I was just a friend! To him our relationship was a game, just some joke that he and I could laugh about! But oh god, he was so nice to me and fun and understanding and smart!"

Now I just sounded like I was stupid. I doubted Caspian would understand what I was saying, and I hardly believed he would listen to me even if I told him the truth. He seemed to distraught to be taking in anything I said to him.

My head spun, I needed to talk to someone about this. I doubt anyone else could understand what I was feeling, I doubted even Caspian could. But seeing as how he was the closest friend I had here- except Mel.

_Mel! _

"Caspian! Are the soldiers still here? Or have they gone by now?"

His head snapped up and he looked so confused. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were red from crying, but he wiped his nose against his sleeve and thought for a minute.

"I believe most of them have settled into the villages around Telmar."

"What about the centaur Melanchates?"

"She is still in the castle. They retained her among the kitchen staff, why do you ask?"

Oh my god, she had been in the castle this entire time and I hadn't spoken to her? Guilt nibbled at the back of my mind, but I pushed it away as I grabbed the King's hands and led him out of the door.

"Caspian, I have to talk to my friend immediately. Please do me a favor, sleep. You look absolutely worn down, and I know you need to sleep."

He protested, but I ignored him, leading him to his door down the hall. I opened the door and pulled him inside, trying not to notice how much nicer his room was than mine. But of course, he was the king. I led him to the huge bed in the middle of the floor and pushed him down.

"I'm so sorry, I know you need to talk. I will be back soon. Please sleep," I whispered, kissing his cheek and patting his hands in his lap before running out of the door.

I couldn't remember the exact way to the kitchen, but I started going down the first staircase I saw, running at top speed. I looked down every corridor I passed until I saw what looked like a servant carrying a stack of linens toward me.

"Excuse me," I said to her, kindly, "Could you please point me in the direction of the kitchen?"

She did not say a word. Instead she bowed her head, curtsied, and started walking away. I didn't understand, but I followed her anyway, worst case scenario is she could lead me somewhere else where I could ask someone.

After running after her for about five minutes I found myself in a huge, galley kitchen, buzzing about with people, working to prepare the meals for the castle. It was easy to spot Melanchates, there weren't many horses inside the Telmarine castle.

"Oh Mel!" I yelled, running to her and awkwardly hugging her front legs, for she was much too tall for me to reach her torso.

"Chris? What in Aslan's name are you doing?"

"Mel, I need you, please. We haven't talked in so long! I miss you so much, and I need to make sense of my own feelings, and you're my closest friend here!" I begged.

She looked around, glad that no one had noticed the scene I was making. Then she nodded her head, wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist, untying it and tossing it on the counter, then she led me out one of the doors, which opened into the gardens.

"Mel, I know you don't have much time, but we need to catch up. I am so sorry I didn't come talk to you sooner, please tell me, what is going on with you? Why are you in the kitchen?"

I don't know how long we talked, but by the time we had finished the sun was beginning to set. She had told me of her plans to find a new home within one of the villages outside Telmar, but she had stayed in order to learn a new trade.

Those centaurs, so good at so many things.

I had detailed my experiences of the last few weeks with her, and described, in detail, my feelings towards Edmund. She was at first confused why he and I would pretend to be a couple in order to entice Caspian, but after I explained it, she nodded her head.

"It sounds to me as if you are using the Just King for your own benefit," she stated boldly.

Her words knocked me back a few paces.

"What do you mean I'm using him?"

"Chris, I know King Edmund was a close friend of yours, perhaps your best friend. But do you honestly believe you could fall in love with him in such a short time, especially under the conditions in which you two were operating?"

I shook my head, trying to comprehend what she was saying.

"I know you think you love him, but have you ever loved someone before? I don't think you love him. I think you fancy him simply because he was convenient for you to fancy. He was friendly, more so than other gentlemen were to you, and he was closer to you than King Caspian. King Edmund was more attainable, so you convinced yourself that it was him you wanted instead of Edmund."

"Mel, I don't know," I mumbled.

"Excuse me, Madam. I'm very sorry to interrupt, but I want to have a word with Lady Christina," a voice sounded behind me.

I turned to see Caspian, still looking drained, but his eyes were much brighter now, he had obviously gotten some sleep like I had asked him to. I smiled and looked back toward Mel.

She smiled and patting my shoulder, "Of course, your majesty. Chris, come visit me before I make my journey to my village," she said before leaving me alone with the king.

My cheeks reddened as I looked at him, realizing how confused he must be for my outburst earlier. I felt bad having abandoned him in such a time of need, but maybe Mel was exactly what I needed.

"Hey Caspian," I whispered, sitting on a bench and patting the spot next to me.

He took a seat and looked at me, his brown eyes boring into my green ones.

"Did speaking to Melanchates make you feel better?" he wondered.

I nodded, "She knows me very well. It was nice to speak with her and get her input on some things. I'm sorry I left so suddenly earlier. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, I needed to sleep, you were right."

I nodded, smiling softly. Looking at him now, in the light of the setting sun, I felt butterflies again, remembering how much I had liked him. But there was something new in the pit of my stomach as well.

Guilt?

"Caspian?"

He looked at me and nodded.

"What did you mean earlier by saying I was something wrong?"

He sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair and scooting closer to me. "I am sorry, Christina. I don't mean that you specifically have done anything wrong. It's just- you are so… you're unlike any other woman I have ever met. Even Susan," he muttered.

"Do you want to hear something funny? Edmund and I originally planned to make you jealous. I just thought you were so smart and adventurous and sweet and just.. perfect. I had the biggest crush on you. Edmund suggested we make you jealous. Then I fell for him, while we were pretending."

It all flew out of my mouth before I could stop it, so when he looked at me with a wide-eyed, thin mouthed stare both my hands flew to my mouth and my cheeks turned bright red of their own accord.

"I'm so sorry Caspian, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by telling you that."

"No! Don't be sorry, please don't be sorry. I just, do not understand. Did you not love Edmund?"

I shook my head, not making eye contact, too embarrassed and uncomfortable to actually look into his pretty brown eyes.

"I did love him. It was you that drew me to him. But, like I said earlier, I think my feelings were one-sided. Edmund thought we were pretending; so did I, honestly. Until he left, that is. It took him leaving to realize my feelings for him."

He nodded, placing his hand on my knee and patting it softly.

"Chris, we are both missing people. We need to stay strong. I do not know your plans yet, but please- stay. Stay here, at the castle, with me, until Aslan informs you of your purpose here. Please? I consider you one of the closest friends I could have. Now that the Pevensies are gone, you are the only friend I have left."

The butterflies fluttered again in my stomach, accompanied by the nagging feeling of guilt. But what should I feel guilty for?

"Of course I will stay here Caspian. You are one of my only friends here, and I don't want to lose you. Especially now that I have lost most of the others."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's note: I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated. Good news is that i am finished with my exams for a while, and I have already begun the chapters for the sequel to this story. Bad news is there are only a few more chapters until this story comes to an end. I hope you have all enjoyed so far and will continue reading to the next story! **

**Anyways, for now, i still don't own Narnia, as sad as that may be. Read/review if you enjoy! **

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"Come on, Christina! Pay attention!" Caspian commanded, striking my blade with his own.

I snapped back to reality and ducked under his next strike, narrowly avoiding a sword to the heart. It was only after I ended up sprawled on the ground did I realize my mistake. After I had ducked, I didn't pay enough attention to jump over the leg Caspian swept out at me.

"Where's your head?" Caspian questioned as he stabbed his sword into the ground and offered me a hand up. I sighed and took it, standing and lodging my own sword in the dirt with his.

"Here," I lied.

"Chris?"

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. It had been months since the Pevensies left. I had been doing so much better with accepting their departure. But now that the one year mark was near, I had begun to fall back into a slump. I was dearly missing my friend, Edmund.

Sighing, Caspian swung an arm over my shoulder and led me toward the castle.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

He had led us to the giant kitchen, which I was used to seeing at night, when no one was present, to search for something to snack on after our duel.

We were given large mugs of tea and platters of mini cakes.

I couldn't help but laugh as Caspian tried to balance everything in his hands.

I took the drinks and a platter of sweets out of his hands and led the way to his study, where he and I usually had tea once or twice a week, depending on how busy he was. This was one of those weeks when nothing was really going on. It was only Thursday and this was our third time having tea together.

"It's hard not to think about him, Caspian," I muttered, bringing the steaming liquid to my lips.

We stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, munching on our cakes and taking sips of the tea.

"Besides," I began after about five minutes of silence, "you can't possibly tell me that you don't still think about Susan."

"I do!" he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in the cozy arm chair I was currently seated in, bringing my legs up to my chest, grateful I had worn breeches to spar today. Since the day the Pevensies left, Caspian and I had bonded immensely, comforting one another and supporting the other when they needed it.

Now he just scoffed at how easily I had made my point.

"Just because I still think about her doesn't mean that I refuse to accept the fact that she's not coming back to Narnia," he explained.

"Hey! Aslan said Ed and Lu would return someday. I just hope I'll be here when they do."

"I wouldn't count on that," he mumbled.

I scowled at him before setting down my mug and standing up abruptly. I wasn't mad at Caspian. No, it took much, MUCH more than that to make me mad at Caspian; but his insistence to completely forget about the prospect of Edmund or Lucy coming back unnerved me.

"Cas?" I whispered, using the nickname I hardly ever used.

He raised his eyebrows and waited.

"How long do you think Aslan will let me stay here?"

He and I always avoided this topic. We both knew that my time in Narnia was limited, just like the Pevensies', but we hadn't seen Aslan for ten months; leaving was always a threat over-shadowing anything I did in Narnia.

"I don't know…" he murmured, looking distressed.

"Alright. Well, I'm going to go practice some more," I brushed off the topic once again.

Before he could say anything else I hurried out of the study and through the halls of the Telmarine castle; I had finally learned my way around. Taking in a big gulp of fresh air, I dislodged my sword from the ground and walked out of the sparring ring.

I headed to the forest, swinging and hacking at leaves left and right.

I finally stopped at a spot in the woods where the castle was still in sight, but, if someone were to come looking for me, they would have to enter the woods to find me. After a while I gave up on my sword and just practiced hand to hand combat, punching, kicking, etc.

I didn't know how long it had been before I finally decided to quit.

I flopped down onto the ground, laying in the soft grass. I was covered in sweat and my breath came in short gasps. I was dying for a drink of water.

Ever since Edmund had left, my training had been vigorous. I felt like I owed something to him. So, to keep the memory of him intact, I trained harder and longer than I had ever dreamed I would in my entire life. I would be the best swordsmen in Narnia if I had to. As long as I knew it would make Edmund proud. He was, after all, the very first trainer I had.

Looking up at the setting sun, I stood and grabbed my sword, heading back to the castle.

Caspian would be worried.

"Lady Christina, where on Earth have you been?"

I looked at Arianna, rushing down the stone steps toward me.

"Hey there, Ari….how are you today?"

"I have been worried sick! You know the only time I get to see you is during the evenings! Today, I go to your chambers to help you prepare for supper, and you aren't there. In fact, you can't be found anywhere in the castle or in the training fields!"

"I noticed that you've been busy during the days recently. Why is that?"

"The calormenes are coming to discuss – Don't change the subject!"

"I was training in the woods and I lost track of time. I'm sorry!"

She rolled her eyes and took my hand, leading me through the castle to my room, where a washing basin was already waiting for me. Crinkling my nose, I turned to Ari and sighed.

"Ari I'm hungry! Can't I clean up later?"

"The only way you're getting food is if you get in that tub now."

I whined a bit more, but she would hear none of it. Finally I just muttered angrily under my breath and untied the front of my corset. Then I pulled my feet out of my boots and looked over at the girl standing next to me.

"You can go now, Ari. I'm capable of taking a bath by myself," I told her.

She left quickly, leaving me to strip the rest of my clothes and climb into the warm water. Letting out a breath of relief, I sunk lower into the water and washed my hair with the different soaps and oils beside the tub. Next I rubbed some more good smelling products onto my body, enjoying the clean scent washing away the sweat.

"Hey, Chris?"

"Caspian, do NOT open that door."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Trust me, don't!" I cried, panic beginning to set in. What if he didn't listen to me?

"Christina, if you don't tell me what it is that's going on in there right now, I'm coming in."

Before I could process what I was doing, I jumped out of the bath tub, wrapped a fluffy white towel around my dripping body, and ran to the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened it just a crack and peeked out to see Caspian waiting outside.

"What're you doing?" He raised his eyebrows and tried to peer inside.

"I was washing up," I snapped.

It took him a moment to comprehend what I was getting at, but once he did, he blushed a furious shade of red and looked away. I saw a tiny smile grace his features and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Sorry, I'll come back later…" he trailed off, turning to leave.

"No, you can talk to me. Just let me put some clothes on. Wait here."

I made sure he had stopped walking before closing the door and running to put clothes on.

Rummaging through my wardrobe, I pulled on a cotton chemise. It had long sleeves, the cinching that was supposed to be at my wrist extending well beyond my fingertips, and reached about to my knee. Before reopening the door I tied my hair up into a sopping bun with a ribbon.

"Ok, I'm back. Come on in."

He hesitantly crossed the threshold of the door, which I closed after he entered. His eyes lingered on the bath, which was still full of warm water, and the puddles that I had splashed onto the floor in my haste to answer Caspian the first time.

I sat down on the bed and faced him as he sat on one of the couches.

"All I really wanted to tell you was that the calormenes are coming in just over a month."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that! Since when has this been planned?"

"About a week. We have diplomatic issues to discuss. I just wanted to warn you that I'm going to be quite busy with the preparations for their arrival that our weekly tea may have to be postponed for a while."

I nodded my head.

Sure, it sucked. Caspian was my friend (and the one I had "feelings" for). I liked seeing him.

But he was a king. And the Kingdom always came first. Always.

"You missed supper, you know," he muttered after a while.

I rolled my eyes and stood up from my bed, pulling my robe on over my nightgown and tying the belt around my waist tightly. Then I looked at Caspian with quirked eyebrows.

"I was just about to go get a snack, care to join me?"

"No need, I already took the liberty of having Arianna bring you some things."

As if on cue, Arianna entered holding a tray loaded with various foods with one hand and carrying a tea pot and two tea cups with the other. She crossed the room and set the things down in front of the fire, putting the kettle on the burner, flashing me a smile, then exiting the room.

Caspian just smiled at me as I stood there, my robe still on, staring between him and the food.

I would never get used to being waited on. Ever.

Rolling my eyes again, I took off my robe and knelt down beside the table, taking a small slice of turkey, pulling off a small portion of it, and putting it in my mouth. It tasted delicious. After my turkey I began nibbling an assortment of the fruits sitting on the plate. An apple, an orange, a handful of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and a special narnian fruit that looked like a pear but was much larger and richer in taste.

"You eat like a gerbil," Caspian teased, pouring the steaming tea into two cups.

"How do you know what a gerbil is? I thought those only lived on Earth?"

"They do. Lucy explained them to me a while back," he answered.

I giggled, taking a large gulp of the steaming liquid in the cup I held, enjoying the burning I felt as it flowed down my throat.

"Thanks, Caspian," I grumbled after I finished my tea.

He smiled, stood up, and grabbed a small rice cake.

"We should be getting to bed. Lots of work for the next few weeks."

I hopped up and walked to the door with him. He turned, took hold of my hand, planted a tender kiss on the back of it, then proceeded to his chambers down the hall. I watched him go, smiling fondly as he waved once more before closing the door to his own room.

Re-entering my own room, I snuggled under the covers and smiled, cradling my tingling hand to my warm cheek.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's note: I apologize profusely for the long waits in between chapters. I will do my best to do better. Hopefully you all had a wonderful Holiday, and are looking forward to a new year. Here's the next installment! **

**Still don't own Narnia. I'm not as cool as C.S. Lewis, i wish...**

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The next month I spent holed up in the library, reading various histories about the Calormen people in order to be more aware of who were coming to visit and how likely a negotiation of peace would be reached.

With everything I had read, it seemed more than unlikely.

Now, sitting in the King's chambers with another huge, dusty library book draped over my lap, I re-read the story of King Edmund the Just and the Queens Susan the Gentle and Lucy the Valiant narrowly escaping the clutches of Prince Rabadash, and the almost-war that broke out because of it.

It was so hard to believe that, at one time, Edmund had been a wise and noble king for YEARS. He had grown into adulthood here, and then was sent back to be a child. The Edmund I had known was vastly different than the Edmund who had ruled the Golden Age of Narnia.

And yet, he was the same person, the wisdom and nobility was there, right below the surface, it just took me too long to notice it.

"Christina!"

"I'm right here, Caspian, no need to shout," I snapped.

His eyes were wide with anxiety and the frown on his face seemed almost permanent. His hair was disheveled and the clothes he wore were completely mismatched and un-Caspian-like.

"The Calormenes will be here in only a few hours and look at me! I'm a mess!"

"Caspian-"

"The servants are on a mad dash to finish the feast and prepare the welcoming ball, the Lords are preparing the meetings we are going to have," he rambled, pacing around the room.

"Cas?"

"the only person I have to talk to is you, and you're so bloody calm. It's infuriating!"

He ran a hand through his hair and put his face in his hands. "I'm not cut out for this, Christina. Can't we call Aslan and tell him to bring Peter back to rule?"

"CASPIAN!"

He stopped pacing and looked up at me, surprised.

"Calm. Down. Take a deep breath."

Glaring at me for a moment, he did as I instructed, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. Then he let it out and looked at me again, waiting for my next instruction.

"Now, everything is in order. The Calormenes are on schedule, the feast and ball are almost prepared, and the entire castle is spotless. The ONLY issue right now is how you look. Honestly, man, do you really need your servants to pick out your clothes for you?"

He crossed his arms angrily, but stayed silent.

I stood up from the bed and crossed the room, opening his wardrobe and looking through all the clothes he owned. Finally I decided on a simple blue tunic with dark green designs on it. Then I handed him some brown pants and his usual dark brown boots.

"You need to change, now, so we can fix that hair."

Nodding, he pulled the current, gaudy, red tunic over his head, followed by the scratchy looking undershirt. I blushed as he faced me, hand outstretched, completely shirtless.

His stomach was smooth and tan; also very well toned. A shiver of pleasure ran through me as I stared at him, wishing I could touch his chiseled abdomen, and run my hands along the finely shaped surface.

He cleared his throat and I looked up, blushing even more, knowing he had caught me staring.

"Like what you see?"

"Cocky, aren't you?"

"Well, tell me I don't have a reason to be," he answered smugly.

"Fine, you're ripped, I'll give you that."

Then I turned my back and waited for him to put his clothes on. When he finally told me I could turn around he was sitting on one of the couches by the fireplace, pulling his boots on and tucking the bottom of his pants into them.

I went to the vanity and grabbed a comb.

When he tried to stand up I placed my hands on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down.

"Stay," I ordered, beginning to brush his wonderful hair.

After I had tamed the knotted mess I set the comb down and stepped back to admire my handiwork. He stood tall and proud, looking much more relaxed now that he was cleaned up and ready to meet the Calormene nobles.

I daintily picked up his crown from the pillow it sat on and placed it on his head.

"There, now you're ready, your majesty," I smiled.

"Thank you, Chris," he whispered, kissing my cheek.

"Your majesty?"

I stepped away, folded my hands, and bowed my head a bit, hoping to show respect to the Lord that was currently speaking to the king. "The Calormenes have just arrived. They are at the entrance to the castle now."

Caspian nodded and dismissed him, turning back to me.

I lifted up my dress so I wouldn't trip on the train and followed him out of the room and down the stairs. My heart beat faster as I thought about the guests that had just arrived.

"Christina, I want you to be careful this week."

"Why?" I asked, turning to him as we walked at a brisk pace.

"The Calormenes do not have the same respect for women as Narnians do."

His jaw was set firmly and I could tell that this fact upset him quite a bit. I gritted my teeth and tried not to let my mind run rampant, thinking about all the bad things that could happen to me, because I was a woman.

Finally we arrived in the great hall and met the Calormene nobles.

"Your majesty, I introduce to you, Haidar Tarkaan, Fahd Tarkaan, Kashif Tarkaan, and Ra'eesah Tarkheena," one of the servants announced, indicating a group of olive-skinned, lavishly dressed people. They wore bright reds, oranges, and golds. The men were all bearded and decked head-to-toe in gaudy rings.

The one female of the bunch had long, jet black hair, with a tall and slender figure. Her skirt was a bright turquoise with gold jewels covering it and had a long slit up her leg, stopping mid thigh. Her top was the same color of her skirt and was practically skin tight It stopped mid-abdomen, revealing her flat stomach, and showed, in my opinion, too much cleavage.

Caspian approached her first, bowing and placing a swift kiss to her hand.

Of course he would flirt with her. She was leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

He shook hands with the Lords, called Tarkaans, and greeted each of their slaves as well. They then approached me, looking confused. Despite their haughty arrogance and obvious sexism, I curtsied politely and tried to smile.

"And who, King Caspian, is this lovely creature?"

The only man without a beard stepped forward with an unnerving smile on his face. He wore dark brown pants and a golden shirt that was lavishly decorated. His shoes were wooden with a point at the toe; they looked almost like elf shoes.

"This, good Fahd, is my most trusted advisor, Lady Christina Montgomery of Cair Paravel."

"Your most trusted advisor?"

"But she's a woman!" another Lord piped up, looking at me.

"Yes?"

I flashed Caspian a grateful smile for the light undertone of sarcasm in his voice. Anger flashed through me as the Lords exchanged a look that I could not decipher. Then the man named Fahd took my hand and kissed it.

I tried not to screw my face up in disgust.

I did not like these people, I decided. I would be glad when they left.

"Come, noble Tarkaans. I shall show you to your rooms myself. Lady Christina, will you be so kind as to show the Tarkheena to her room?"

I nodded my head and outstretched my hand towards her. She smiled an obviously rehearsed smile and took my hand with fake civility. As we walked by Caspian I stopped for a moment, leaned close to his ear and whispered "Where exactly is it that I'm showing her?"

"the guest wing in the western part of the castle. Last door on the left," he muttered.

Nodding, I lead the lady through the halls and up the stairs.

She asked many questions about the castle and the city that I could not answer. At one point she became suspicious and asked me how long I had been here. I told the truth, saying less than a year, but I had come from the Noble land of Narnia, Cair Paravel to be exact, beforehand, which wasn't exactly the most honest statement. Nevertheless, we managed to make it to her room with no accidents.

I opened the door and allowed her to enter first, then followed behind.

"I hope this will suit you," I said genuinely.

"It is decent. Not nearly as lovely as my chambers back in Tashbaan, but it will do."

I nodded and went to leave when she sat down on the bed and called out to me. I turned back around and gave her the most encouraging smile I could muster, hoping that if I got her to ask her questions faster I could answer and leave sooner.

"That King Caspian is quite handsome, is he not?"

"I daresay he is," I answered through gritted teeth.

"But he is unmarried?"

"Indeed."

"Why?"

"I do not know the answer to that, milady."

She got up from her perch and began walking around the room, inspecting the furniture and the fabric. She looked very pretentious. Of course, being a lady of the over-indulgent, Calormene court had to be the reason why. She was not used to simple beauty. Only greedy showings of wealth.

"And you, Lady Christina, you have not a marriage proposal yet?"

"I have," I told her.

She rose her eyebrows and looked at me, waiting for further explanation.

I gave her none.

"And who was this gentleman caller, may I ask?"

"You may. It was King Edmund the Just, a king of old from the Golden Age of Narnia, Aslan brought him back to our world to help fight a civil war between Telmar and Narnia and unite the two nations together."

"I have heard many stories of King Edmund the Just."

The tone she said that in made me weary, what did the stories about him say?

"I have heard of his encounter with one of your princes, Rabadaash, many years ago," I said.

She nodded her head and looked away again, continuing her inspection of the room. This time I stood still, I did not know whether she wanted to talk more or if she wanted me to leave.

"Tell me, Lady Christina, has King Caspian expressed an interest in any ladies?"

"That I do not know, milady."

"Very Well, you may go now."

I nodded, very eager to leave but extremely angered by the way she dismissed me as if I was nothing more than a servant in her eyes. I walked to the door and right as I was about to close it I said: "A servant will be coming in just a while to help you prepare for the ball this evening."

As soon as I heard the door click shut I broke into an all-out sprint away from the western part of the castle. As soon as I made it to the familiar hallway I proceeded until the very end and knocked on the door. After a few moments Caspian answered, looking tired and worried.

"I don't like them," I huffed, pushing past him into the room.

"Nor do I, but we must play the gracious hosts while they are here."

"That vile woman, can you believe her, dismissed me! She actually dismissed me. She said "Very well, you can go now." As if I'm some kind of lowly slave girl!" I yelled, throwing a pillow to the ground angrily.

"Christina-"

"And the nerve of those men! why are they surprised that I'm your advisor? They have a woman in their court! They brought her with and yet they have the audacity to gasp when they see me?"

"Chris, I know-"

"I should've worn a different dress They probably think I'm some….i don't even know!"

"CHRIS!"

I looked at Caspian, who had a slight smile playing on his lips as he plopped onto the bed and wrapped his arms around me in a comforting side-hug.

"I'm sorry they treated you like that. They're only here for a week," he sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I grumbled, leaning my head on his shoulder.

After a few minutes I spoke up again. "She asked me about you, you know."

He looked at me with quirked eyebrows and pulled away. I stood up and began pacing the room slowly. How could I tell him this without sounding jealous?

"What did she say?"

"She asked why you weren't married and whether or not you showed interest in any of the ladies." I answered without looking at him.

"And what did you say?"

"I told her I didn't know. Because, honestly, I don't."

I stopped my pacing and looked up at him. Now it was his turn to look away. Obviously, he didn't want to talk to me about these things. But I came this far. All I had to do was ask him.

"So, Caspian, why aren't you married? And do you have an interest in any of the Ladies?"

He glared at me for a second before sighing and flopping onto his back. I laughed at his childish behavior and bounced on the bed next to him, tucking my legs underneath me as I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"I am not talking about this with you," he mumbled.

"Oh, come on, Caspian! I am your most trusted advisor. You should tell me everything."

"There are still boundaries."

I bit my lip and squeezed his hand, kissing it with a smile. He looked at me irritantly and I puffed out my bottom lip, drawing my eyebrows together. I scooted closer and shook him a little, prepared to beg if I had to.

"Fine, then tell me as a friend. Not as a king to his advisor, but one friend to another. From Caspian to Christina. Please Caspian? I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

He sat up and thought for a moment. Then with a surrendering huff, he nodded.

"Why haven't you gotten married yet? Is it because of Susan?"

"Susan is part of it. She was….the first girl I ever loved. But I've learned to get over her. You helped me do that," he reached over and patted my knee with a smile, "Honestly, I just haven't found the right girl. Well…..never mind," he answered.

I nodded and sat on my butt, crossing my legs in front of me.

"So, are you interested in any of the ladies of the court? Or maybe just a lady in general, like, from the city or something?"

He stared at me a moment, thinking about how to answer.

I tried not to look too desperate, but I really wanted…no, needed, to know.

"I am not sure what I am feeling. Call it interest, if you will, but there is most definitely something there. Whenever I look at her…I am so nervous and my stomach is always in knots. I'm usually confident around women, there are so many in the court that I just learn to deal with them. But there's something about this one…she's different."

"Who is she?"

"That, I'm afraid, is a question I will not answer. But now, it is my turn to ask you something."

"Fine."

"Why aren't you married yet? You came so close one time."

"Caspian, I'm going to give you the same answer I gave you a year ago. A year ago- oh my god! Caspian, it's been a year today; a full year since the Pevensies left." I gasped.

He nodded as if this was old news.

"Sorry, I thought you knew," he whispered at last. I nodded slowly.

"So why haven't you married yet?"

"Edmund and I were too young, Caspian. I was hardly an adult, and he was only 16. There was no way we could have had a successful marriage. Other than that, I have not received any proposals, so I don't know if it's honestly my choice to stay single, or the men just don't want me."

"You know that's not true."

"Just because a couple of guys fawn over you when they're drunk does NOT mean that any of them actually want you. They're just looking for a "good time."" I snapped.

"Some say that one's true secrets are revealed while under the influence of liquor."

I rolled my eyes and stood up, patting Caspian's knee. He furrowed his eyebrows, but then looked out the window and jumped up. The sun was beginning to set, the ball was due to begin in just a few hours.

"You don't need help picking out clothes again, right?"

"No, I can pick out my own wardrobe, thank you," he growled.

With a short laugh, I began walking towards the door. But Caspian followed me. As I left his room and entered my own, he was still behind me. After kicking off my boots and pulling off my vest/corset, I looked at him with my hands on my hips.

"You just gonna stay there while I get ready for the ball?"

"Well I thought, since you saw me earlier I'd- whoa, Christina, calm down, I'm only joking!"

I chucked a pillow at his head and laughed as he dodged it with a shocked look on his face. He picked it up and tossed it on the bed after a moment, chuckling.

"I need to help you pick out your dress."

"Excuse me?"

"We need to try to play into the Calormene's lifestyle," he explained.

"Uh uh. No way am I wearing one of those skimpy little get ups like the Tarkheena!"

"No, no, I know. I'm not asking you to put on one of those "skimpy little get ups." I'm just saying, your dress needs to be a combination of the two. Flattering, but modest. That shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

"Is that you asking me to be sexy?"

He blushed a bit and I laughed, amused that I could get that reaction out of him with just a simple joke. Without another word, he bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. Then I set to work.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's note: Oh my god! It has been so long that I have touched this story. To anyone who is still sticking with me through this: I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update! It got to a point where, classes mixed with changing my major (you are now officially talking/reading a Criminal Justice major, instead of journalism) and my job, it got too much where I didn't have time to update, and I was not willing to put a half-hearted attempt up.**

**Anyways, here it is now. Don't get your hopes up too much, I am hoping (since I have time this weekend, to get a couple chapters up) but finals are coming up soon and then I will not be able to update again until those are over. But I am back, I hope! Please let me know what you think, I love all the comments and feed back I get. I love all of you, thank you for continuing to read! **

**Also, as usual, I do not own anything related to The Chronicles of Narnia, all of that belongs to the genius C.S. Lewis**

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"Why, Lady Christina, you look ravishing!" Fahd told me.

I managed a smile and curtsied, allowing him to press another sloppy, sickening kiss to the back of my hand. The rest of the Calormenes greeted me in much the same fashion and I just remained silent through all of it.

After a few moments of conversing a servant announced Caspian's entrance and I clapped, along with the rest of the nobles.

As he descended the stairs for his grand entrance, everyone, including the Calormen, bowed.

Keeping my eyes on him, I swept into a low curtsy, trying to be as graceful as I could.

He was wearing dark blue robes, looking very King-like. The crown on his head was perfectly straight and shined brightly against his dark brown hair. He looked perfect. The Calormenes greeted him first, offering their compliments about the castle and the ball.

He spoke with them like an old friend, but I could see the apprehension behind his eyes.

He didn't like them either.

Finally he made his way over to me and stopped short. I smiled and spun around quickly, giving him the full picture. He remained silent for a few moments. A light blush crept onto my cheeks as he continued staring, not saying anything.

_Well, this is a bit….awkward. _

"Christina, you look…" his voice was low and quiet.

"Flattering enough, Cas?" I joked

He swallowed and I could see his Adam's apple bob up and down in his throat I smiled slightly, stepping closer. He nodded quickly and I hugged him tightly. As he pulled away he grabbed my hands, kissing both of them and staring at me.

"I'm s-sorry. I know I owe you some type of compliment. But any words I could come up with would still not do you justice."

I smiled and kissed his cheek quickly.

"You look pretty handsome yourself," I teased, wrapping my arm around his.

We then continued into the grand hall, which was decorated with bright reds, golds, yellows, and oranges. A band of fauns was set up and playing Narnian themed songs against the back wall. Tables were set up along the outer edges of the room, leaving space for people to dance. A refreshments table was set up, small snacks prepared by the cooks sat there, as well as an assortment of drinks ranging from orange juice to wine.

"You know you have to start the dancing," I told him as we entered the ballroom.

"Will you dance with me?"

"As much as I would love to, Caspian, I think the first dance should be with Calormene nobles, so as to make them feel more welcome." I told him, wishing I could dance with him.

He sighed, nodding.

"Sorry," I breathed as he walked off to ask the Tarkheena to dance.

"Care to dance, Milady?"

I smiled and took the Tarkaan's hand. His name was, if I was correct, Haidar. He was well past his prime; wrinkles covered most of his face and his black beard was long with the tips tinged silver.

His smile was jolly while we danced, and he prattled on about his wife and children. I could honestly say that I liked him most of all. When the dance was over I bowed and moved to one of the tables surrounding the room.

The night passed by happily. I danced with Narnians and Calormens alike. I tried to steer clear of the Calormens as much as I could, for I feared I would not be able to stop myself from telling them how I truly felt about their culture. However, whenever a Tarkaan asked, I did not refuse.

Much to my dismay, the "noble" Fahd seemed to have taken a liking to me. I danced with him five times by the end of the night.

Five times too many for my taste.

Through the course of the evening, the Calormens indulged in the rich Narnian wine.

By the time I bid goodnight to everyone, half of their party was drunk, and the other half well on their way to being drunk. I wrinkled my nose with dislike as I faced Caspian and told him I was heading back to my chambers for the evening.

"Do you want me to walk you to your room?" Caspian asked as I left the great hall.

"No, I'll be fine! You stay here, enjoy the Calormenes," I joked, winking.

Then I continued on my own. At night, the castle seemed much bigger, and scarier; more so when it was empty. Making sure I wouldn't step on my skirt, I quickened my pace, eager to get out of these spooky halls and into my warm, welcoming room.

"Lady Christina!"

I turned around, the train of my dress still in hand, to find a very drunk Fahd Tarkaan.

He stumbled towards me, a revolting smile on his face. When he stopped, too near for my liking, I could smell the strong scent of alcohol on his breath. I backed away, but he only stepped closer, his smile growing larger and more sinister by the second.

My heart rate began to pick up as I tried to think of ways to get away from him without being rude.

"Noble Fahd, did you enjoy the ball?"

"Yes, it was quite….amusing."

I nodded, cringing at the stench of liquor invading my nostrils.

"But what I enjoyed most was watching you, madam."

I looked up into his black eyes with both disgust and nervousness. He was very drunk; he had no idea what he was saying. Everyone was still at the ball. We were alone in an empty castle. A cold sweat broke out along the base of my neck, and although it was quite warm in the castle, goose bumps grew on the skin of my arms and legs.

"Tell me, girl, how long have you been Caspian's whore?"

"What?"

"I have been watching you and your _king_," he almost spat the word, "You cannot think me stupid enough to believe he has never taken you as his own."

"He hasn't," I growled.

His laugh only increased the chills building up within me. I had to get out of here.

"I wonder what he will think when his own personal prostitute is taken by another man."

With those words I clamped my mouth shut and turned on the spot, ready to run. I felt his hand clench around my wrist, squeezing to the point where a small groan came out of my mouth. My breath began to come faster as I turned back toward him and gave him the most deadly stare I could muster in my panic.

"Release me. Now."

"Don't be insolent, little girl," he chuckled, leaning in and closing his eyes.

Before I had come to this world, I took a single self-defense class with my sister, our mother telling us that we needed to know the basics if we were going to go off by ourselves in such a big place. I couldn't remember the name of that place now; it seemed so distant. I strained my memory to try and remember what I had learned about being attacked.

Just as his mouth was about to reach mine, I took the heel of my palm and thrust upward.

Blood came out of his nose, and he let go of my wrist. While hunched over, trying to keep his blood from soaking his robes, I put both hands on his shoulders and brought my knee up, between his legs, with as much force as I had.

He fell to the ground with a groan and I grabbed hold of my dress, turning to run as far from this scene as I could.

_I have to find Caspian. _

A scream escaped my lips as I felt a strong weight fling against my back and shove me to the floor. Fahd turned me over and his fist connected with my cheek. He hit me again and again, until my vision began to blur.

"You should not have done that, whore."

I screamed with every ounce of breath I had left in me, trying to call for help, but Fahd slapped his hand over my mouth, and put his hand around my neck. My eyes, which I had previously closed, flew open as I gasped for breath.

_He can't kill me. Can he?_

My head ached and I could taste blood, my own, from my nose, or my lip, or something. I tried to breathe as normally as I could, but with the amount of constraint being applied to my airway, I was quickly losing oxygen. My ears began to ring, and my lungs burned.

Instead of clawing at his hands, I used the only strength I had left, to jab him in his eyes.

He screamed, and let go of my throat. Despite how dizzy and tired I was, I struggled to my feet, and tried to run as far as I could.

Fahd grabbed hold of the end of my dress, tearing off a good portion of it, and yanked me back to him. I kicked my foot back, in the direction of where I hoped his face would be, but he grabbed my ankle instead, and pulled my foot out from under me, causing me to fall on my stomach.

"CASPIAN!"

I screamed and screamed, until Fahd began to kick me. He kicked my ribs and my legs and my face, and when I did not stop screaming, he rolled me over and put his foot on my throat, immediately cutting off my ability to make a single sound.

Tears leaked out of my eyes and I gasped for breath, I closed my eyes. I did not want the last thing I saw to be the smug look of the horrid man who had taken my life.

_Caspian please save me._

"Get off of her!"

I gasped, and my hands flew to my throat when the pressure from Fahd's foot disappeared.

_Oh, thank Aslan. _

As I lay on the ground and tried to regain my breath, my other injuries took over, and it was then that I realized just how much damage Fahd had caused me. The pain tore through me, and made my vision go black, not before I was able to whimper out a tiny "thank you" before everything was gone.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's note: Hey guys, here's another chapter! I would say you're looking at one or two more tonight, maybe more depending on how I feel! I tried to do this as tastefully and as realistically possible. As usual, please let me know what you think, I would love to hear your opinion, especially since I think I struggled most with this chapter. **

**I know there are undertones of sexual harassment in here, I want to tell you guys now in no way do I condone that kind of activity, and I do not believe in adding those serious themes just for "shock value" so please don't be offended, because in no way am I trying to exploit the issue for readership.**

**As usual guys, I do not own Narnia!**

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*Caspian's POV*

"Your majesty?"

Nevin seemed a little frightened of me. And rightfully so, Fahd's face was already bloody from Christina's few blows, but after I had grabbed a hold of him I could not stop myself.

Anger pulsed through my veins, and I saw red, and although I'm sure the man was already unconscious, I could not stop hitting him. I wanted him dead; I wanted him to pay for having attacked her.

The only thing that stopped me was the softest sigh and a small "thank you" from Christina.

I threw down the Calormen's limp body with disgust, and turned my eyes to Nevin.

"Please dispose of this wretched creature, as well as his fellow countrymen. The treaty is off; there will be no negotiations with such barbarians. Nevin, I want you to personally see to it that they are gone before sunrise. Never to step foot in this country again. If they dare, I will make certain they will not leave here alive."

With that, the young man ushered the other men he brought with him, two other servants, and the three carried him away. I turned toward Christina.

_Oh, Aslan, no. _

She was badly beaten. There was blood dripping from her mouth and a large gash spanning from her hairline to her left temple, and bruises were beginning to form around her cheeks and eyes. Her hair was disheveled and her throat was bright red, turning purple from where Fahd had placed his foot. Her dress had blood, hers and his, I'm sure, streaked down the front, and was torn at the bottom. She was even missing one of her shoes.

I gulped back the bile rising in my throat and picked her up as gently as possible.

"Why did this happen to her?" I asked myself quietly.

I knew that gash on her head needed stitches and, due to past experiences, I thought it best to handle that while she was still unconscious. I took her to the infirmary as quickly as I could and laid her down on the cot as the nurse bustled around me, to prepare to treat her.

"Tangela, her head needs stitches," I croaked, feeling sick.

"Do you recall the last time we tried to give Lady Christina stitches, your highness? I do not wish for my head to be removed at her behest."

"That is why I have brought her to you unconscious," I tried to laugh, but it came out sound like a sob.

At this noise she nodded silently, setting to work on Christina's head. I squeezed her hand, although I had my doubts as to whether or not she would actually wake up while this procedure was happening.

Luckily, Tangela worked quickly, and had the wound stitched and bandaged in a matter of moments.

She then set to work on the rest of Christina's injuries.

"Is she going to be ok?" I asked her as she softly applied pressure to Christina's abdomen, where the scar of her stab wound was still located.

"Besides some bruising and swelling, and a sore throat, I would say she will make a full recovery in a week's time. I would focus your attention more on the emotional healing, sire. I fear for the girl's head, she will be terrified to walk these halls alone for a very long time, I daresay."

I coughed, feeling both devastated and relieved.

At least she will be ok, but she will be scared to live here.

After she had applied a salve of herbs and creams to Christina's bruises, paying close attention to her throat, Tangela dismissed us, telling me that she would probably be more comfortable waking in her own room rather than the infirmary.

I agreed, carrying her, once more, to her chamber, and laying her down gently.

Although I couldn't think clearly, anger and sadness swirling around within me, I was glad to have enough presence of mind to realize that she was still wearing the dress she had been attacked in.

My cheeks heated up as I fumbled with the laces on the back of her corset. I had never undressed a woman before, and this was not the way I had imagined my first time going. That thought alone brought an even stronger heat into my cheeks.

Once her gown was loosened I went over to her wardrobe and pulled out the largest nightgown I could find, and pulled it over her head, careful to avoid her injuries as best I could. I then pulled on the hem of the dress until it came off, around her ankles, and I pulled her arms through the sleeves in the nightgown.

I left the dress on the ground next to the bed as I sat in the bed next to her, and leaned my head against the headboard as I waited for her to awake.

*Christina's POV*

"Cas-" I gasped, struggling for breath.

"Your precious King cannot save you now," Fahd laughed, his black eyes swallowing me whole.

I opened my mouth to try and scream, but no sound came out. All I could feel was a burning in my throat, it felt like someone had taken a rock and scraped it along the inside of my throat, preventing me from making any noise at all.

"Christina. Chris, Please wake up, it's a dream,"

My eyes flew open and I immediately wished they hadn't. With consciousness came the full force of my injuries. My head pounded so hard, I could hear it in my ears, and it felt like a brick was lying on my throat. Both my cheeks felt like shattered glass and my lip was cut open, so I could still taste the coppery taste of blood.

I looked around to find Fahd, but all I found was Caspian.

I breathed a sigh of relief, causing more pain to radiate through my entire body.

Caspian looked like he hadn't slept for a year, his hair was disheveled, and there was blood staining his royal tunic. I looked down, to where his hand was holding my hand, and frowned when I saw how bloody and cut up his knuckles were.

"Cas," I croaked, sounding like a frog.

I guess that would be the after effects of almost being choked to death, twice.

"What happened?" I tried to sit up, but my entire body groaned, and I just gave up.

"Shh," he whispered, running his thumb gently over my cheek, where I had no doubt there were bruises. "Don't talk, you need to give you throat the chance to heal."

I nodded, but kept my eyes on him, trying to convey that I still wanted an answer.

"We can talk about this tomorrow, Chris, you need to rest."

He let go of me and began to get up. Fear struck at my heart. What if, while he was out of my sight, that man came back? No, he couldn't leave me. I quickly reached for his hand and clung to his arm desperately.

"Caspian, please don't leave me. Don't let go, please."

"Go to sleep now, Christina. It's alright, he's gone."

He leaned back and laid beside me, pulling the covers over my shaking body and pulling me close to him. I tried to close my eyes, but every time I did I heard Fahd speaking. I saw his eyes. I smelled alcohol.

I tried to scream, but all that came out was a rasping noise.

"Christina!"

"This isn't supposed to happen to me, Caspian," I cried, tears leaking out of my eyes.

"I know, love, I know. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry"

We sat there for hours, Caspian whispering sweet things in my ear whenever I spoke. He held me when I cried and comforted me in every possible way he could. I clung to him, vowing not to let go, for my life depended on the constant, familiar presence of King Caspian X.

At one point I had calmed enough to lay down and close my eyes.

But only a few minutes after my eyes had closed I felt the bed move beside me.

Caspian had gotten up and was beginning to head towards the door. My heart stopped. He couldn't leave. Not now. I needed him.

"Caspian! Don't go, please, I'm begging. Don't leave me, I need you."

"You need to get some sleep, Christina."

"I can't sleep without you here."

"I really shouldn't…"

"Stay with me, Caspian. Please, just stay the night with me?"

His face flushed and he looked mighty uncomfortable, but I could care less at the moment. He was the only thing keeping me from having a mental break down and I needed him with me.

"Very well," he sighed, "just let me change."

He slipped out of the room for just a moment, and I laid there, eyes open, waiting for Fahd to come back, and finish what he had started. But he never came. After a few moments, Caspian returned, wearing a plain pair of brown trousers and a very light sleeping shirt.

Slowly, he walked back to my bed. He slipped off his boots and rolled up the sleeves of his thin under shirt. Then he crawled into the bed beside me and laid down, looking at me. I cuddled close to him, burying my face in his chest. He wrapped a protective arm around my waist.

"You're shaking," he commented.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Of all things you could say right now, sorry should not be one of them."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Not for this."


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's note: okay guys, probably the last one for tonight. But AHHH, here it is! I hope you guys like this one, it took me forever to get this down into words, and even now I'm not sure how I feel about it. But let me know what you think!**

**I still do not own The Chronicles of Narnia *sigh* Enjoy!**

* * *

I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. Instead, I lay in Caspian's arms and cried, trying to get the tragic event out of my head. At some point in the night Caspian fell asleep, and I took refuge in watching him. He was so sweet and peaceful when he was asleep. So innocent.

It was like he was a child.

Eventually bright rays of sunshine washed the dark shadows of the night away.

I sighed and tried my hardest to move without disturbing Caspian, but it was such a task to even sit up, I was so sore and bruised still, that it took several attempts to actually get into a sitting position, but as soon as I did I looked over at Caspian to ensure I had not awoken him. He still seemed to be asleep, but my jostling around had disturbed his hair.

I slowly reached out and pushed his bangs off his forehead, out of his eyes.

I jumped as his hand shot out to grab mine and hold it against his face. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at me, an apprehensive smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

"Good morning, sleepy head," I croaked.

"Morning," he answered, sitting up and holding my hand.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but closed his mouth and turned his eyes away from my own. He repeated this cycle several times, playing with my fingers instead of looking up at me. Looking down at his bruised and bloody knuckles I began to get curious about what had happened after I lost consciousness last night.

"How are you?"

"Under the circumstances, I'd say I'm fairly well," I responded.

He nodded and scooted closer, wrapping his arms around me in a very gentle hug. I hugged him back the best I could as more tears came to my eyes. This guy was just too perfect.

"I'm so sorry, Christina," he whispered into my ear.

"There's nothing you could have done to stop it. You didn't know…" I muttered.

"I never should have invited the Calormens. I knew they were horrid people! I knew they had no respect for women. But I let politics get in the way of those I care about. I'm so sorry that happened to you, Christina."

"Caspian, it's not your fault. It's ok, I'll be fine."

"It's not okay. You don't understand how…infuriated I was when I saw you. How angry I was when I saw his foot on your throat, like you were nothing. I was disgusted by what he had done," he shuddered violently at those words; I did too. "I wanted to kill him. Never have I ever wanted to hurt another human being as much as I wanted to hurt him. I hated him. I hated him more than I hated Miraz."

I put my hand on his arm and his eyes, glazed over with anger, zoned back in on me.

"Caspian," I breathed, moving closer to him.

He loved me. That much I could tell. No one has this much passion for someone that they simply liked. But I could not tell if he loved me as his friend or as something more. I was burning with curiosity to find out which.

My resistance was wearing and I could hardly stand it anymore.

Looking up at those big, beautiful brown eyes, I felt my control slip away.

With a slight grimace I pushed off the wall and into him, resting my hands on his chest as I closed the small gap between us and placed my lips against his as lightly as possible. The cut in my lip stung, and I was worried he could taste my blood and would be disgusted, but he gave no indication of wanting to move.

His hand rested softly on my cheek as he kissed me tantalizingly slow.

My heart was beating a million miles per second as he pulled away and looked at me. My spirits sank, though, when I saw the sadness in his eyes.

_Oh god, this is the part where he says that he loves you as a friend. _

"Christina," he murmured, running his hand through my hair softly, "I'm sorry."

"Oh god," I groaned.

I should not have done that, I should not have even thought of it. There were more important issues to deal with, like what happened to Fahd, and here I was trying to make out with my best friend.

Heat crept into my bruised cheeks and I flinched, more from the sheer weight of my embarrassment than from the ache in my bones, and turned away from him. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat on the edge, facing away from him.

"I'm sorry Caspian. I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me."

I looked down as tears came to my eyes. I tried desperately to stop them. Of course I was upset about him not reciprocating my feelings, but wow, how embarrassing! How could I have been so stupid to think now would be the right time to do this?!

"Oh, Christina, my dear, don't cry."

"I'm not crying," I sniffled pathetically, still not looking at him.

He got up and walked to my side of the bed and knelt down in front of me. He placed his finger under my chin and tipped my face upward to face him. His expression was pained as he looked at me and I couldn't help but cry harder. Now he would never talk to me again. Especially when I needed him so badly right now. What have I done?

"I'm so sorry, Caspian. You must be so uncomfortable now."

"Don't apologize; do not say sorry. It's not fair to you. If you have to apologize then so do I."

"But this is my fault-"

"Christina, I wanted that just as much, if not more, than you did."

My heart stopped. Was I imagining things now? Did he really just say that or, due to recent events, was I completely losing my mind? Sadly, I shook my head and tried to look away.

"Cas, you don't need to say that," I rasped out, "I know that I shouldn't have done that, I'm-"

He leaned forward now, cutting me off in the middle of my rambling, and kissed me again.

This one wasn't as sweet as the first, but it was just as enjoyable, and made my heart grow weak at the mere tickle of his breath on my lips. I never wanted it to end, but he pulled away, gently bringing his hands to cup my cheeks, much too soon for my liking.

"Christina, now is not the time to confess my love to you. You've been through a traumatic experience and I am not going to exploit your vulnerability. But know, I have loved you since the first day I met you, can you remember it?"

"Course," I choked out.

"_Are you alright?"_

_I jumped, looking for the source of the somewhat familiar voice. When I saw him, standing in the entrance to the Howe, I put my heart to my chest, as if to stop it from beating right out of my skin. _

_He chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."_

"_I-it's ok." I stammered._

"_Would you mind if I joined you?"_

"_Are you alright?" he repeated._

"_Um, y-yeah, I'm fine."_

"_I'm not sure we've been properly introduced, have we?"_

"_Not really," I whispered, looking straight ahead. _

"_I am Prince Caspian."_

"_It's nice to meet you, your majesty-"_

"_Please, just Caspian."_

"_Nice to meet you, Caspian. I'm Christina" I whispered. _

"_Pleasure to meet you." He still held his hand out, so I nervously reached out and took it._

_Instead of shaking it, like I expected, he carefully brought my hand up and pressed a soft kiss to the skin on the back of it._

"_They're beautiful, aren't they?"_

"_Mhm," I hummed. _

"_Before I …left, my professor would wake me up at night, and we would go star gazing. He would point out the different constellations and tell me each of their stories. Even after he went back to sleep, I stayed out and just…watched." _

"_What?"_

_I looked away quickly._

"_Nothing." I mumbled._

"_Have you ever star gazed before?"_

"_I've tried. But no matter where I go, you can never see them as clearly as you can here." I replied._

"_Why'd you leave?"_

"_My uncle. He has been after the throne ever since my father died. The only reason he kept me around is because he didn't have an heir. When my aunt gave birth to a son he tried to kill me, so he could take the throne for himself and his son." He breathed._

"_Christina!" _

"_Christina?" Lucy called again. _

"_I have to go," I whispered, standing up._

_He remained seated._

"_Goodnight, your majesty."_

"You looked so beautiful that night."

"So did you," I whispered.

My heart was pounding a million mile a minute, and it was beginning to make my aching body hurt even more. I grabbed both of his hands and pulled them off of my cheeks, squeezing them as hard as I could while I groaned and got to my feet.

Standing didn't hurt as much as sitting did, not as much pressure on my aching lungs and ribs.

"Christina, we can talk more about this when you have recovered, but please, don't feel like you need to reciprocate just because I have chosen to confess my feelings toward you. Especially now, in such a delicate time," he said, gripping my hands tightly despite the fact that some of the scabs on his knuckles reopened and started to bleed again.

I opened my mouth to tell him that I loved him too when I was interrupted.

"Milady?"

Both our heads turned towards the door as a short knock sounded, followed immediately by the wood being pushed open and Arianna running into the room. She stopped short, though, once she saw Caspian there.

A blush crept across my cheeks.

He was wearing a sleeping shirt and his boots were on the floor by my bed, I couldn't imagine what she was thinking, but whatever it was, it probably was not very appropriate.

"Oh, Lady Christina, you're alright! When Nevin told me what happened last night I wanted to come here immediately. But I was told that King Caspian was looking after you. It appears that I had heard correctly. Thank you, your majesty," she swept into a low bow.

"Please, there is no need for thanks."

He squeezed her shoulder in a friendly manner and then turned back to me.

"I must go and prepare for the day. There will be, no doubt, many conflicts to settle. I shall come and visit you in a little while to see how you are getting along."

With a small kiss to the hand he departed.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's note: Oh my gosh, I am so sorry I totally lied about the last chapter being the last one tonight! After I went back through and was editing, i just got stuck on a long streak, and I completely finished the story! So here we go! Let me know what you think!**

**Again, I don't own Narnia. That privilege belongs to C.S. Lewis **

* * *

When he was gone, I began to feel slightly lightheaded, in the best possible way. He told me he loved me. He kissed me. My heart was still beating uncomfortably fast and I could not control the small smile that found it's way to my face, despite the pain it brought to my bruised cheeks.

"Christina, how are you faring?"

I tuned back in from my little cloud of happiness and winced as I began to feel the pounding in my head once again.

"Been better," I muttered.

"Come, a nice long bath should assist you in recovery."

Nodding my head in agreement, I followed her into the bathroom and stood back as she filled the tub with steaming water and lucrative soaps and lotions. Once finished, she turned to help me undress. I was grateful, for my arms and shoulders ached, and pulling the nightgown off would have been a nightmare by myself.

_Wait how did I get into a nightgown?_

I made a note to ask Caspian what had happened after I had lost consciousness, hoping to not get sidetracked again this time, and I grasped Arianna's hands as she helped to lower me into the tub.

I spent close to an hour in the bath, just laying there and breathing slowly in and out. The warmth of the water massaged my tense muscles and temporarily relieved me of my stress. But once I saw that my hands were beginning to get wrinkled I called for Ari. Typically, I was a fan of modesty, and I was able to bathe myself without much help, but I was still in an impressive amount of pain and I could not do too much on my own.

After she had helped me out of the bath, Ari wrapped me in a very plush and warm robe and sat me down in front of the vanity to brush and fix my hair, as well as pick out my dress for the day.

"I thought this would be a good one to wear today, because it's very soft, and comfortable," she said, holding out a simply gray dress with royal blue accents, that laced in the front.

"Perfect," I agreed, standing.

Once she had helped me into my dress, she laced up the front, leaving it lose in order to not put any pressure on my bruises, and then she wrapped her arm around mine gingerly.

She took me to the dining hall, which was close to empty now that it was mid morning and the time for breakfast was done, but after seating me at one of the benches near the front of the hall, she exchanged a few quiet words with one of the kitchen maids and in a few moments a large breakfast platter was brought before me.

With surprising vigor, I dug into the food. My stomach gurgled its thanks as I began eating. Apparently I had been hungry; funny, I didn't even notice. Then again, it made sense. I was too consumed with Caspian.

As soon as I had finished eating, the ladies took the trays away from me, but I did not miss the curious and disgusted stares I got, no doubt due to the bruising and swelling on my cheeks and neck. I was so worried with how they looked; I did not even bother to look in the mirror while Ari helped me get ready.

"Ignore them, Chris," she whispered, noticing my glances.

I nodded and took her hand to stand. Next she took me to the infirmary to see Tangela, the nurse, to get more of the healing salve and the bandage on my head replaced. While she was rubbing the healing salve on my neck and cheeks, she looked almost amused, and kept glancing at my head.

And that's when I felt them. Little bumps underneath my bandage.

"Did you stick me with a needle last night, Tangela?!" I tried to yell, but it came out as a whisper.

She snickered, "Forgive me my lady, I should not be laughing, but I am shocked that it has taken you this long to notice them."

As soon as she reached for my head I smacked her hand away and looked over to Ari, who looked shocked by the way Tangela and I spoke to one another. Tangela, normally a very peaceful caretaker and nurse, was not a fan of me, after the last incident with stitches.

"Ari, go get Caspian. I don't care what he is doing; tell him I need him now. And hurry!" I whisper/yelled as I smacked the nurse's hand away again.

"Don't touch me until King Caspian is here!" I warned her.

"Very well, girl. At least allow me to prepare an herbal tea which may heal some of that scratch in your throat," She said curtly.

"Thank you," I said, nodding, but still eyeing her suspiciously. She could be trying to get on my good side so she could stick her needle into my forehead again while I wasn't expecting it. And I was not about to let that happen again.

It took her about 10 minutes to crush up the different herbs and make tea, Caspian and Arianna walked in right as she was handing me the steaming mug. I took a long drink of the steaming liquid, cringing as it stung its way down my throat.

"What's wrong?" Caspian asked, his Spanish accent more prevalent now when he was worried.

"Care to tell me anything about last night?" I snapped, surprised at how quickly the tea had helped my voice. It was still hoarse, but it was no long just a whisper. I gestured angrily to my forehead with a sarcastic smile on my face.

He shrunk back a couple of steps and guilt took over his face.

"Chris, I am so sorry. I forgot to tell you this morning because…well-because," he stumbled.

My cheeks turned red then, because I realized why he had forgotten to tell me about my stitches. Because he was instead telling me that he loved me. A warm, happy feeling settled itself into the pit of my stomach as I closed my eyes and nodded, feeling bad for having snapped so quickly.

"Nevermind. You can tell me what happened last night after we get out of here. Now, Tangela, I believe, has to replace my bandage, but I don't even want to think about what is up there, so I am going to lay down and close my eyes, and I'm going to squeeze your hand, ok?"

He nodded silently and helped me lie down on the cot. I pinched my eyes shut as the nurse pulled the bandage off of my forehead and poured some liquid on the stitches to keep them from getting infected. It felt like she struck a match on my forehead.

I hissed and squeezed Caspian's hands.

"Tangela, after you finish here, may you please bandage the king's hands? They appear to be quite torn up," I said, trying to distract myself as she was applying more bandages to my head.

"Yes, my lady. You may sit up now, I am finished."

Caspian helped pulled me up into a sitting position and swing my legs over the side of the cot, than he sat down beside me.

"Drink your tea, " Tangela called over her shoulder as she was grabbing more bandages.

I picked up the mug and sipped at the now-warm liquid while she came over and poured some of the anti-bacterial liquid on Caspian's knuckles. He closed his eyes, but showed no signs of pain or discomfort other than that. Once she had wiped the blood off his hands she wrapped bandages around his knuckles and then dismissed us, with a dirty look in my direction.

By this time, Ari had gone about her other duties, so it was just Caspian and I walking out to the gardens, silently.

I kept thinking about what he had said earlier, and how desperately I wanted to tell him that I loved him too, and I just wanted to kiss him again. But I also wanted to know what had happened last night. No, I needed to know.

Once we had sat down on one of the benches, in the sun, I looked over at him.

"Cas, what happened last night?"

He closed his eyes for a moment and then sighed. Then he looked at me and told me about how he was on his way to bed when he heard me screaming, and he came to find me. He saw Fahd trying to choke me, and he tackled him. He was vague on what he did after that; all he said was that he "sent the Calormens away."

Then he talked about how he took me to Tangela and got me fixed up, and then took me to my room so I could wake up in comfort. For the most part, I could fill in the blanks, but there were still two things I was curious about.

"How did your knuckles get so torn up?" I asked him.

He looked down, almost ashamed, and played with a little frayed edge of one of his bandages and stayed silent for a few moments, then he looked up at me.

"You remember what I said this morning?"

I nodded, gulping.

"To see him treating the woman I love like that I- I couldn't control myself. I wanted to kill him. I almost did, if it hadn't been for you," he whispered.

My heart fluttered at his statement about me being the woman he loved.

"I heard you say thank you, and I stopped. I dropped him. I asked Nevin to get rid of him, and I focused my attention on you. I didn't think you were going to die, but Christina. All that blood everywhere. I was terrified."

"Most of it was his," I chuckled, "I think I broke his nose."

Caspian cracked a smile, but he looked at me very seriously, no humor or happiness in his face. I inwardly cringed at how penetrating his gaze was, but I also couldn't look away from him. My heart ached to kiss him, to tell him I love him, but I could tell by his face that now was not the time.

"Why Christina? What happened?"

And that was when I remembered that Caspian had come in at the end, and he had no idea how the attack had begun. At that I thought of Fahd's threat to "take me." I shuddered. I had almost forgotten that.

"He was very drunk. He followed me when I left the ball. He cornered me in the corridor and asked me how long I had been your 'whore' and then he… he," I didn't want to say it out loud. It made me so uncomfortable. But Caspian was here to comfort me, and he deserved the truth, no matter how horrible.

"He said 'I wonder how Kind Caspian will react when his own personal prostitute is taken by another man,' and then he tried to kiss me. I tried to leave and that's when he grabbed me, I didn't know what else to do, so I hit him in the nose, and then I kneed him in the groin. I think I made him mad, and that is why he began to attack me," I finished.

Caspian's hands were balled into fists and his fingers were turning white, I feared he would tear through his bandages if he did not loosen up.

"Cas," I whispered, laying my hand on his.

Instantly his hands loosened and he looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed. His deep brown eyes held unfathomable emotions within them, but I could definitely detect anger, disgust, but I did not know what else I was seeing when I looked at him.

"He… threatened to… take," he struggled over the word, "you?"

I nodded, holding his hand and reaching up, touching the furrow between his brows and waiting until it softened.

"I wish I had killed him," he growled.

"Hey Cas," I said, still trying to figure out the answer to my other question.

"You never told me how I got into my nightgown last night." I whispered, smiling.

The murderous look on his face immediately disappeared and was instead replaced with wide eyes and very red cheeks. And that, alone, gave me the answer I needed to know. He changed me into my nightgown last night. My cheeks turned slightly pink, underneath the bruising, thinking about what he saw while he was doing that, and if he saw anything, hoping he was grossed out or disappointed.

"Did you-?" I didn't know how to ask this question.

"No Chris, I swear. It was completely the purest of intentions, and completely appropriate, I swear!" now he seemed to be flustered and even more embarrassed than before.

He looked so cute with the pink coloring his cheeks, I couldn't help myself when I leaned forward and just gently pressed my lips to his. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to get some of the red to fade form his cheeks.

"I love you too, Caspian." I told him.

I started at him, waiting for some sort of reaction, but his expression was blank, and it seemed as though he had stopped breathing for a few seconds. Oh god, was he just being nice earlier, did he really not love me like I had hoped he did?

"What?" He choked out. Now _he_ sounded like the one who had been choked.

"I love you Caspian. I am so sorry I didn't say it to you this morning, but Ari interrupted and then you left, and then I needed to know what happened last night before I distracted myself again."

"Christina, wait. Please. Just… don't say things you don't mean," he mumbled, not looking at me.

"I mean this Caspian, I really really do. I have loved you since the first time we met."


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's note: second to last chapter! Fear not, there will most likely be a sequel (I'm thinking Dawn Treader?). I'm sorry this is all so sudden, once I get on a roll, I can't even stop myself. Let me know what you think! **

**Still don't own Chronicles of Narnia, sadly... **

* * *

The next day, despite his busy schedule, Caspian managed to fit in our monthly tea in his study again. Right around lunchtime, instead of going down to the dining hall, I made my way to Caspian's study and knocked on the door twice.

"Come in," he called, although the large wooden door muffled it.

I entered the study, pleasantly surprised to find tea and some small sandwiches already waiting for me on his desk. I walked in and smiled, a blush immediately finding it's way to my cheeks, as Caspian watched me sit down and grab hold of one of the sandwiches.

"Good afternoon," he said, a bright smile on his face.

I smiled as well and busied myself with tearing off small parts of the sandwich and popping them into my mouth. Since he and I had spoken yesterday, I had not seen him. Another one of the nobles had found us in the garden and had called him to business having to do with the Calormens.

He left without another word or even another glance in my direction.

I was not sure where we were, in terms of a relationship. I recalled Edmund explaining to me the many rules revolving around love and intimacy in Narnia, so there was no chance we could just "date." Either we were friends, or we were engaged. There was hardly an in between here.

Without a word he stood and came to sit in the chair beside me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly, his fingers softly stroking the bruises around my neck.

I allowed myself to fill up with warmth at his touch; goose bumps began to form on my arms and legs, the good kind of goose bumps. I closed my eyes and allowed the feeling to spread throughout me, helping me relax.

"I am doing alright," I answered honestly.

I was still sore, and I had not gotten much sleep the night before, nightmares plaguing me every time I closed my eyes. Plus I missed the warmth Caspian had provided when I was in my bed, I had a very strange feeling that I would never sleep the same, knowing what it felt like to lay in a bed next to him.

"That is good to hear," he said, pulling his hand away and taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Cas, I haven't been to the training fields in a while," I said randomly.

I was dying for a topic that would make it easier for he and I to chat again; I wished to talk about something that was not our relationship. I loved him, yes. But he was my best friend first, and my love interest second. So I wanted to go back to normal conversations with him.

"Chris, look at you, you can't spar right now," he stated.

I rolled my eyes, "Well yes, obviously, doofus. I mean, it has been a whole month since I have been to the training fields. You and I used to go out there at least once a week and spar."

"Chris…I… after seeing you so bruised and beaten, I don't know if I would be comfortable sparring with you again. I'm sorry, I just want to keep you safe; it isn't that I doubt your abilities. I just don't think I could focus on the fight, I would be too worried to hurt you."

I sighed and nodded. At least he was being honest.

"Well, I guess we'll see who hurts who. Once most of my bruises and my cut is healed, I'm going to start training again."

He closed his eyes for a second and then nodded, giving in.

"That dress looks beautiful on you," he commented, quietly.

My heart began to pound again, and another blush worked its way onto my cheeks. Of course I had flirted with other boys before, and I had technically been engaged to Edmund at one point, but I had never felt this way with anyone else.

Everything he did made me feel new, and happy, and like I was made of air.

"You don't look half bad yourself," I joked, taking in his rich red tunic.

"How would you feel about going for a ride out to the ocean?" he asked.

"Well, I don't think I could very well go on a ride right now, Caspian, just changing out of my dress at night is quite a chore. I have no doubt the jostling of a horse would do nothing for my recovery," I laughed. "But perhaps after I am more healed."

"Whenever you feel up to it, just say the word and we will be off."

I nodded, and took a sip out of my cup of tea when another thought came to mind. I was scared to bring it up, but since our feelings were still fairly new, better to ruin everything now than years down the line when we were both more invested.

"Cas?" I started slowly, looking down at the liquid in my cup.

"Yes, love?" he replied, making my heart skip a beat.

_Don't do it. _

"What about Susan?"

Silence.

_Told you so. _

"What about her, Chris?"

"I was just wondering, I mean…didn't you love her? How can you presume to love she and I at the same time?"

He sighed and inched closer to me, sitting on the edge of his chair and facing me.

"Christina. When I met you, I did not know what love was. I had grown up with tails of Queen Susan's beauty, and when I had finally met her, I felt as though I had loved her all my life. But then I met you, and I thought Susan's beauty hidden in shadow compared to your radiance. Yet I hardly knew you, and I felt like I knew Susan. So I told myself that she was the one I had loved. It took my quite a long time to figure out that I was not true to myself, and that it was you who I had loved all along."

His eyes burned into mine. I couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction when he said I was prettier than Susan.

"What about Edmund?"

That question had thrown me for a loop.

Of course I remember Edmund, I remembered how our relationship started. We wanted to make Caspian jealous. I don't think it was ever more than that, to Edmund, but I had begun to feel something for him. And then he was taken from me, sent away by Aslan.

Or had I told myself I loved him, because I believed I would never have Caspian?

All I could remember these days was that Edmund was my best friend, and every time his name was mentioned a small ache in my heart appeared. No matter how much I loved Caspian, he could never fill the gap that Edmund had left once he was gone.

"I too fooled myself Caspian. I told myself that, since Edmund was my best friend, I could love him. Because I could not have you. And I believed I never could, so I tried my best to convince myself that I loved Edmund, instead of you," I said quietly.

At this Caspian bridged the gap between us, and pulled my lips to his for a quick kiss.

"It is I who could never have you," he whispered once he pulled away.

"Why would you say that, Cas?"

"Because, Christina, you are far too perfect than you give yourself credit for. I thought, if not Edmund, than some other man from court would swoop you up before I could tell you my true feelings. Although I did imagine it being somewhat more romantic than the morning after you were almost beaten to death,"

"That is a vast over exaggeration," I laughed, but I grabbed onto his hand and smiled at him.

"I love you, Caspian," I said.

He closed his eyes and sighed, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. His thumb massaged the back of my hand as my words soaked in. "Say it again," he said.

"I love you Caspian."


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's note: Well, here it is! The final chapter! I had originally only planned for this story to be about 20 chapters, but that didn't end up happening did it? I am satisfied with where it has ended, for now. Please let me know what you think, and also if you would like for me to do a Dawn Treader sequel or not! **

**I just want to take this opportunity to thank every single person that left a review, everyone who favorited/followed me or the story. I appreciate all your support! **

**Ok, so the last time (for now) I have to say this: I do not own Narnia! Please Enjoy! **

* * *

***(2 weeks later)***

"Ari, I don't understand why I should wear this dress. It's just a ride."

"Because, King Caspian will love you in this color!" she cheered, finishing the lacing on the back of my dress.

My cheeks heated up and I distracted myself with brushing my hair as Ari grabbed my riding boots for me. Looking in the mirror, I was satisfied with my now faded bruises, they just made my cheeks look slightly yellow, but they were no longer purple.

Although I begrudgingly admit it, Tangela did a good job with my stitches, my cut was almost completely healed, and the scar was small and faint. Unless I was in a certain light, you couldn't even notice it.

"You know about that?" I asked quietly, liking the way the purple complimented my eyes.

"I have not said a word, my lady. But Nevin and I could not help but notice the change in your behaviors, since that morning, after… you know," she broke off, helping me into my boots.

"I appreciate your discretion, Ari."

A knock sounded at the door and my heart picked up immediately. I turned toward the door as Arianna opened it, revealing Caspian. My breath flew out of my entire body when I looked at him. I had never seen him dressed like this before.

He had on a navy blue tunic, and very light, cream colored trousers with brown riding boots. The contrast between the light pants and the dark tunic was striking, and made him look ten times more tan than he was. I felt very pale, being in such close proximity to him.

Ari bowed, with a small smile, and left the room, closing the door.

As soon as she was gone, Caspian crossed the room in two short bounds and encircled me in his arms.

"Wow, you look incredible," I told him, staring at his brown eyes, somehow shinier than usual.

"I am nothing compared to you, you are beautiful, as always."

I sighed and laid my head against his chest, embracing him for just a moment. Since he and I had talked about our feelings, we got few chances to actually exhibit intimacy with one another. It was mainly just sly looks across the room at a council meeting, or smiles at the dinner table.

Any moment we had alone was a stolen kiss, or fleeting embrace, never lasting long.

"Are you ready for our ride, love?"

I nodded, squeezing his hands and pulling away from his warm embrace, picking up the small picnic basket Ari had packed with snacks for us once we reached the beach. It was only about an hour's ride from the castle, but hopefully Caspian and I would be able to spend a whole day together, enjoying some much needed alone time.

He took the basket from my hand, I had yet to even look at what she packed for us, and he lead us out to the stables, where our two horses were waiting, already saddled.

When I had finally learned how to ride a horse, thanks to Caspian, I had been offered a talking horse to ride, but I could not bring myself to direct a talking beast as though it were a dumb beast, and I said I would prefer to have one of the dumb beasts.

It was only a few months after the Pevensies had left that Caspian had surprised me with my own horse, a gorgeous brown color, with a white diamond decorating his nose. The only name I could think of him was an Irish name I had learned long ago, before Narnia, meaning beauty.

"Ailill, my darling, it has been far too long," I cooed as I mounted.

Caspian situated our provisions in his saddlebag, and left the actual basket in the stables, and once he was ready, he gave me a nod and we were off.

The ride was pleasant enough; neither Caspian nor I spoke much.

Caspian seemed nervous or anxious about something, and I tried to think of what could be wrong while I spent my time admiring the landscape. It had been a long time since I had left the Castle, and even longer since I had actually been in the thick of Narnia. It made my heart ache for my friends the Pevensies. It had been so long since I had last seen them.

Upon our arrival, Caspian handed me a large blanket, and told me to set up the picnic while he dealt with the horses. He took off their saddles and allowed them to graze in the field of grass behind the sand. I laid out the blanket and placed rocks on each corner, to ensure the wind coming off the sea did not blow it away.

The air smelled of salt and fresh air, and I breathed deeply.

Ever since I was a child I had loved the water, but never in my life, until Narnia, had I seen water as clear or as beautiful. Being here was like a dream come true.

Being here with Caspian was a dream come true.

Caspian then came to join me, taking a seat on the blanket beside me, pulling out a canteen of water and sharing it with me. I drank deeply before giving it back and watching him also take several gulps. Then he brought out the food: some strawberry crèmes and warm bread with honey, and apples to wash it all down.

It was then that I noticed the tiny box placed on the blanket between he and I.

He must have placed it there while I was distracted with the bread and honey. I gulped down the food that was in my mouth, not really tasting. I swallowed again, staring at the tiny box that appeared to hold a very tiny, but important object.

_Is that what I think it is? _

Caspian too, stopped eating and looked at me.

_Is this why he's been acting nervous? _

"What is that?" I asked, not taking my gaze off the box, as if it was going to get up and walk away if I looked away.

"Would you like to see?" Caspian asked.

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for whatever was about to come next, and nodded my head. My heart beat in my ears as I watched him pick up the box and slowly lift the lid from it.

_Oh thank god. _

"What is this?" I asked quietly, as he took the small charm out of the box.

"I had this made for you. I know you're not the kind of girl to wear jewelry much, but I thought about everything we've been through, and I wanted to give you something that mattered. So this is-"

"My first sword," I cut him off, looking closely at the tiny details, accurate all the way down to the decorated hilt.

He nodded, gesturing to me. Asking me if he could put it on me.

I lifted my hair from my neck and shifted so that he could fasten the simple gold chain and gold charm around my neck. It fell delicately in the hollow of my throat, and felt cool against the skin there, but somehow it felt like it belonged there. Like I had always had it.

"Do you like it?" he asked as I turned back toward him.

"I love it. I love you," I answered, leaning forward and kissing him.

He smiled into the kiss, but pulled back far too soon for my liking. I frowned and he chuckled, cupping his hand around my cheek and looking deeply into my eyes.

"Christina, I want to let you know, this is more than just a gift. It is an indication of my intentions. I know that you are not yet ready to be married, and I will respect that. I will not ask to court you or propose to you until you tell me you are ready. But I want you to know that I am yours. Forever."

I felt like I was walking on air, once he finished, looking slightly concerned.

"And I am yours," I told him, placing my hand on his heart. "Forever."

I leaned in to kiss him again when something moved about 50 yards behind him. I furrowed my brow and pulled away, leaning to the side to get a glimpse of what, or who, was back there. My breath left me when I saw.

"Aslan," I whispered, immediately getting to my feet.

Caspian, also catching a glimpse of the Lion, followed my lead, and bowed his head.

"Your highness, my lady," the lion greeted, coming closer to us.

I noticed, with every step closer he got, the waves on the sea began to grow. Before he had appeared, the sea was almost completely still, with a light breeze blowing off of it. Now large waves broke on the sand, and a strong wind blew my hair in multiple directions.

I did not have a good feeling about this.

"Aslan, is something wrong?" Caspian asked, it seemed he had not yet caught on.

"Tell him, Christina," the great lion said, looking at me with knowing eyes.

_So I'm right? _

_**Yes child. **_

Caspian turned to me, even more confused as tears began falling down my cheeks.

_But why now?_

_**Everyone has their own time, dear one. **_

_But why NOW? _

"Chris, what is going on?" Caspian asked me. His brows furrowed together, and the wind from the sea forced me to squint as I looked at him.

"Now is my time," I choked out, trying my hardest not to sob.

"Wait…what do you mean? What do you mean your time? Time for what?"

He didn't get it, and the tears only came faster as it began to sink in what was really happening. By now the water was so violent that the tide came sweeping in, soaking my feet and taking the remains of our picnic out to sea.

"Aslan has come to bring me back to my world, Cas," I whispered.

Despite the thunderous storm around us, I know he heard me.

My heart broke even further when I watched realization dawn on his face. This past year had been so perfect, I almost forgot where I had come from: the same world as the Pevensies. Memories of my sister, or my mother, came flooding back to me. New York City, that was where I was going back to.

"I don't have a choice, do I, Aslan?"

The look in the Lion's great golden eyes told me everything I needed to know.

"Caspian, it's happening now. You need to go. Get the horses out of here, the storm is scaring them."

Caspian shook his head, grabbing onto my arms, I could see the beginning of tears in his eyes and it only made me cry harder. Why now? None of this was fair.

"I am not leaving this beach without you, Christina."

"Caspian, neither of us has a choice."

I put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him gently. Our tears mixed together as rain began to fall, and the sea rushed up to our thighs. I couldn't imagine letting go of him now, but I had to.

"Will I see him again?" I demanded, turning toward Aslan.

"Yes, dear one, in due time you will return to him."

"See, Cas? I will see you again. I promise. You have to go; your kingdom and your people need you, Caspian. You can't come with me. Just please remember, I love you. You will always have my heart."

The water was around my chest now, and tears fell freely from both our eyes as he started walking backward, toward the field where the horses had been trotting back and forth, nervous around the weather.

"Chris, please come back to me."

"I will, I love you."

The water rushed around my head, and swept me from my feet. I grabbed hold of the small charm around my neck, holding on for dear life, terrified it would wash away in the water. As the waves rocked my body, I heard a loud, howling sound grow louder and louder.

Suddenly I was dry, laying on the ground in the subway, wearing a plaid skirt and a sweater vest.

I brushed myself off and stood up right as the train slid into the station and the doors opened. Tears sprung in my eyes as I prepared for school, but I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I was expected to return to life as normal while I had just lost the love of my life.

With a gasp, my hand flew up to my neck, and I felt the small, cool charm there, sitting in the hollow of my neck. My heart ached, at least I knew he was real, and not some delusion, but now my only problem was figuring out how to get back to him.

Gripping the small charm, I wiped away my tears as the train left the station.


End file.
